I'm interested in creating images inspired by myth, dreams and the unconscious. My most successful images often contain something familiar, but combine with something dreamt or partially remembered. Monotypes are the perfect medium for this investigation, because like sleep, they begin in the darkness (of black ink) and like dreams, rise to the surface to reveal themselves. I also love working with the oily texture of the ink, because it is so alive & responsive to the touch. Monotypes are made by removing or adding marks to the ink on a plate. This can be accomplished by wiping, scraping or thinning the ink. Every touch, every move, every nuance is recorded, and this encourages a kind of gestural boldness when composing. I find it exhilarating to watch as my intention and serendipity combine to form something new.
" I think that in any art, you don't know in advance what you want to say. It's revealed as you say it. You have to work and look and change and suddenly, there it is! And this is the great miracle of art. It's revelation, rather than illustration. It's a document, not of the physical world but of the spiritual."
Aaron Siskind 1070