Collage Portrait Series

“What We’re Made Of”

9x12 inches mixed media collage portraits

In exhibition at Bad Moravian (Ephraim, WI) October 9 - November 13, 2021

Framed originals - see captions for availability

Mixed media collage portrait series, “What We’re Made Of,” explores themes of the power and restoration we find in nature, the emotional impact of climate change, and our connection to the natural world.

ARTIST STATEMENT:

WHAT WE’RE MADE OF

I float on my back, sound muted by water, sun in my eyes, bobbing on the waves. I sink, submerged; water closes in over my head. I feel quiet, still, weightless. I go to the mountains and the desert, lie my body down on the sun-warmed rocks. I feel grounded. I feel my place in time and space. I hike trails through the woods. I breathe out worry, stress, frustration and grief, and the forest holds it. The trees are a sponge, absorbing what I exhale and breathing out fresh life. Beauty and power. Water, minerals, breath. It’s what we’re made of. 

WHAT WE’RE MADE OF is a collage portrait series that explores our relationship with nature and its elements. It expresses the connections, restoration, and strength we find through our place on earth, examining the ways in which the natural world is a mirror for human nature. It also explores the impact we have as humans living on and as part of this planet. The ways we change it and exchange with it, the ways we harm it and care for it. This series is meant to be my reflection and expression of the beauty and power we have inside us. By turning to elements of nature as our mirror, we are stripped down to our core.

Each portrait is the personification of the essence of natural places and elements. Expressions and body language are meant to convey and evoke the emotions and feelings we have when we are immersed in each of these environments. The portraits reflect the wisdom in nature. Her clarity. Her peace. Her power. Her sense of security. Her threat of danger. Nature is complex; she is layered. She is old as time; she is new each day. She is life; she holds death. She is us; we are her. Nature shows us our own nature.

The medium of collage adds additional layers of significance to the series. The process of collaging pieces together to create a portrait represents how elements of nature literally make up who we are physically. Photography from nature magazines captures the variety, diversity, and ever-changing nature of these elements. I cut out pieces by following the organic patterns, lines, and shapes in the images. I noticed the contours, light, and layers, and reflected on what they can signify, represent, and convey when arranged into a human face and expression. Additionally, the fractures, tears, and cuts in the paper represent the impact humans have on nature. Relying mostly on Sierra magazines, the source material acted as a bridge between my career in environmental and climate advocacy and my art practice, which provides a meaningful channel through which to explore these issues that are near to my heart.