DANE GOODMAN
In my high school English class, I studied the American Transcendental writers, Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman. Through them I discovered another way of being in the world. It allowed me to see all of life as potential, with infinite possibilities for personal creation in every aspect of daily life. This enlightenment resonated with me and shaped my curiosity concerning shared emotions, daily affairs, and the objects in our lives, both natural and human-made.
I often depict common objects in my artwork, such as snowmen, a teakettle, a Christmas tree, faces, a bed, and a man’s shirt. Likewise, I regularly use everyday materials to make my work, rather than standard art media. I think using items such as soap, cereal bags, handkerchiefs and pillow cases brings the work into a different realm.
There exists an affinity with the materials we encounter throughout our daily lives. We use them physically, some bodily, and our relationship with them has a commonality unlike a canvas which has a long history in the art world. These things of everyday life are personally potent and available to all. They seem democratic.
I am fond of these notions: that I can walk into a store and buy a bar of soap and have material to make a sculpture; that a pillowcase, where dreams reside, or a sheet that wraps me at night, are available as painting surfaces; that I can reach into my back pocket for my handkerchief to use as a ground for my images; that an empty cereal bag can be a vessel for a painting.
My images are chosen for my relationship with them, and for their universality and flexibility. The images and the materials I use create a poetics of particularity, particular to me, a singular way of seeing, of imagining.
Estrada Fine Art https://www.estradafineart.com
MARIE SCHOEFF
My Personal Connection
The prints I am exhibiting are composed of varied yet minimal elements: circular shapes, non-representational lines, and color. My attraction to the circle lies in its geometric beauty and its many symbolic meanings across cultures and centuries. It is an ancient element of our universal language, as is the color that runs through my prints.
The lines you see are born of close observation. While drawing, my hand is the conduit linking my vision directly to the artwork. Lines are traces of my process, of looking, seeing, simply being. I understand a trace as a vestige of an activity; in this case, it incises the movement of my vision. My lines not only record what is seen but also imply what is overlooked. They show where I repeated my gaze and how carefully, carelessly, swiftly, or sluggishly I observed.
The Technical
In printmaking, the “plate” is the surface where the artwork begins. I cut many of my plates from Plexiglass into round shapes. Where you see line work, the plate surface has been etched using a drypoint method with a soldering iron rather than a traditional scribe. Although the lines and circular forms are simple, I can create a wide range of expressions by using numerous printmaking techniques.
Over time, I have built a library of Plexiglass printing plates. By interchanging plates and running the press multiple times on a single sheet of paper, I create layered images. My unscripted process of composing directly on the press bed produces one-of-a-kind prints rather than traditional multiple-edition prints.
My drawing and composing processes keep me present in the moment. I am drawn to the unpredictable, ever-changing nature of this approach, which mirrors life.