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About the Artist Biography
I received my undergraduate degree in Art Education from SUNY at New Paltz, an
MA in Art from SUNY at Statement
I have always been attracted to the
visual power of the medieval manuscript. I wondered if the same power could be
achieved today. I spent a year and a half studying original manuscripts and the
techniques used to create them. Although the medieval workshop had people
who specialized in each area I was intrigued by the idea of doing as much as
possible myself. So began the challenge of what to do the paintings on. The
traditional illuminations were done on vellum, but I wanted a surface more
animal friendly that I could make myself. So I got into papermaking. After
several editions I discovered how much gelatin sizing was needed to have a
surface that could hold paint without being too absorbent. Next I needed to
learn how to apply the gold leaf, followed by grinding the pigment and adding
the egg yolk. The act of
creating an icon is a meditative process, from the intimate involvement of
grinding the pigment and mixing it with the egg yolk, to applying the gold leaf.
To further this intimacy with the materials, I began making my own paper.
Combining textured and decorative mulberry papers developed into various collage
techniques. As the work became more dimensional I started casting paper elements
in relief that led to the use of polymer clay, which, at present, has become a
primary interest. Now I had to develop an image. I did not want an imitation. I wanted to use a traditional medium in a contemporary way, yet keep the aesthetic of the traditional. After many trials I decided on flat shape imagery. This seemed to add many layers of interpretation to the symbols being used and interwove with the use of pattern both as a decoration and symbol. Most of my adult life had been spent trying to understand the nature of belief systems. For years I read books and more books of words, only words, so I finally threw away the words and resurrected my search with only images. One by one, elements of these images have found their way into my work allowing me to build my own eclectic visual vocabulary, a vocabulary I hope others will enjoy and perhaps, enlighten their own discoveries. Resume
Education
MFA University of North Carolina at Chapel
Hill, 1981
MA State University of New York at Oswego,
1978
BS State University of New York at New Paltz, 1974 Professional Experience
2000 Established Studio Familia
1981-Present Art Teacher OCM BOCES
1980 Drawing Instructor University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
1979 Lithography Instructor State University of New York at Cortland Selected Grants/Awards 2006 Artist in Residence, Art Start Grant, McGraw Central School, McGraw, NY
1995 Visiting Artist in Mask Making, Delta High School, Muncie, Indiana
1994 Visiting Artist in Watercolor, Dryden High School, Dryden, New York
Publications and Articles 2006 Polymer Clay Daily http://polymerclaydaily.com/?m=200605&paged=2
Shows and Exhibitions Recent/Selected Exhibitions 2007 Cortland Picture Frame Co., Cortland, NY 2006 Windsor Whip Works Gallery, Windsor, NY
2006 Holiday Show, Cortland Picture Frame Co., Cortland, NY 2006 Fourth Annual Rock Garden Art Group Show, Homer Center for the Arts, Homer, NY 2005 Third Annual Town-n- Garden Art Show, Pinstriped Pokadots Gallery, Cortland, NY 2005 Member Show, Pinstriped Pokadots Gallery, Cortland, NY 2004 Parachutes, Pinstriped Pokadots Gallery, Cortland, NY 2004 Pocket Shrines, Autumn Leaves, Ithaca, NY 2003
Bird Show, Littlestone Gallery,
Ithaca, NY
2002
Redefining Art, Avenue Art Gallery, Endicott, NY
2002 Community Art Exhibit, Dowd Hall, SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY
2002 Artists Respond, Community School of Music and Arts, Ithaca, NY
2002 Featured Artist, Littlestone Gallery, Ithaca, NY
2001-02 Greater Ithaca Art Trail
1995 Mask Exhibit, Delta High School, Muncie, Indiana
1994 Watercolor Exhibit, Dryden High School, Dryden, NY 1982 International Exhibition of Mail Art,
Brown-Lupton Gallery, Fort Worth, Texas
1982 Ithaca Art Association Regional Exhibit, Ithaca, NY
1981 Group Show, Ackland Art Museum, University of North Carolina, Chapel
Hill, NC
1980 Exercise In Containment, Chapel Hill, NC, Curator
1980 Fish Show Invitational, Wesley Foundation, Chapel Hill, NC
1978 Solo Show, Tyler Hall, State University of New York at Oswego, NY
Private
Collections: Grant Arnold Collection, State University of New York at Oswego, NY
John and Carolyn Day
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