When I
search for new materials to work with I never know what I am
going to find or how it will be incorporated into a piece.
I am attracted to rusty metal, old relics from a local
farm or abandoned buildings and scrap yards. Months or longer
may go by before everything falls into place.
It is magical to me how various shapes and sizes all
manage to fit into a cohesive unit, be it
complimenting a photograph from another time and place,
adding to a Puzzle Assemblage in a flattering way or serving as
a bauble for a clock.
Why do
I use the materials I do? I
think it is my attraction to the unknown.
Working with pieces of metal that I have no idea what
they were used for stimulates my creativity.
They feel like missing puzzle pieces and when I make art
I feel like I am putting the puzzle together.
I feel childlike and free, uninhibited and excited.
Found objects, especially those that have been weathered
by the elements and time, are beautiful all on their own and
much more coveted than something shiny and new.
Biography:
Born
in Illinois
in 1961, Paula is a first generation self taught artist.
She moved to Arizona
in 1981 and in 1985 studied massage therapy and spent the next 20
years building up her private practice.
In
the spring of 2003 Paula quit massage and prepared to travel
around the states camping and hiking while looking for a place to
live and to find a creative outlet for herself.
She spent the winter of 04 in Minneapolis
and became interested in painting on tile and experimenting with
other mediums. Paula
had made a handful of pen and ink drawings in 1995 and was still
uncertain of what mediums she felt drawn to.
By
summer of 04 Paula had covered most of the Northern slice of the United States
& parts of Canada
but it wasn't until she arrived in Vermont
that she felt drawn to stop for another winter. As soon as she
settled in she began working with found objects and photography as
a way to capture texture and mood.
Her work is an expression of her fascination with Vermont
and the objects that are discarded in scrap yards, barns and
industrial areas.
In
Fall of 05 Paula exhibited at her first show, 'For Arts Sake'
sponsored by the Helen
Day
Art
Center
and won a juried award for Mixed Media.
She then exhibited in the month long Burlington South End
Art Hop. In Jan. of 06
her work was picked up by the
West
Branch
Gallery & Sculpture
Park in Stowe, Vt.
She has shown in other local Galleries and is currently seeking
out of state representation.
Most
recently she has completed well over half of 100 Limited Edition Collectable Clocks
on RR Tie Plates, as well as continuing to expand on the
Puzzle Assemblage Works. January of 2007 the Puzzle Works
were exhibited in New York at the "RAW Arts Festival New
York 2007". In May of same year her work was included in a group
show with comments by the Editor of 'Art New England'. Fall 07 she
had a solo show in a local Gallery and in early 2008 her work got
picked up by another Vermont Gallery in Montpelier.
Paula
also continues to challenge herself to find new ways to present
photography. Her
view is that framing a photograph and sticking it under glass
"suffocates" the work.
She is interested in bringing photography to life and using
other mediums and ways to present the work that brings it to life.
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