Carlee Myers
Artist Statement
My artwork focuses on printmaking as a Way or Do. The author of The Japanese Way of the Artist, H.E. Davey, describes a Do as “an art that allows us to understand the ultimate nature of the whole of life by closely examining ourselves through a singular activity of life: to arrive at the universal through studying the particular.” Approaching printmaking as a Do is a significant part of my process as it is allows me to meditate why and how I relate to the spiritual—a term I use to describe a divine order, universal energy, god, etc.—through nature. As I use art-making as a medicinal and meditative practice, much of work comments on the importance of process.
For me, printmaking is defined as the process of transferring an image whether it is image to paper or light to a surface. That being said, I explore the concept of traditional printmaking with intaglio, relief and installation. Within my practice I work with relief and intaglio to create imagery of natural and found patterns. Using oxidized steal, I create collographs that blur the line between the natural and the man-made. Moreover, I find the slow and labored process of carving to be meditative. The organic patterns, imagery and ephemeral gestures that often appear in my work reference the chaos of the natural world and structure, we as humans, impose upon it.
In addition, I work with natural and artificial materials to discuss how one relates to the natural versus the man-made or the objective world versus the spiritual world. By enabling these materials to collaborate, my work begins a conversation about man’s need to simplify the complex and assign complexity to the simple—we need to feel as if we understand the world around us. My interest in these relationships is key to my practice as I, as a human being, strive for this understanding. For me, Intaglio, relief and installation are a means to an end—each process functions as a moving meditation allowing me “to arrive at the universal through the particular.”
My artwork focuses on printmaking as a Way or Do. The author of The Japanese Way of the Artist, H.E. Davey, describes a Do as “an art that allows us to understand the ultimate nature of the whole of life by closely examining ourselves through a singular activity of life: to arrive at the universal through studying the particular.” Approaching printmaking as a Do is a significant part of my process as it is allows me to meditate why and how I relate to the spiritual—a term I use to describe a divine order, universal energy, god, etc.—through nature. As I use art-making as a medicinal and meditative practice, much of work comments on the importance of process.
For me, printmaking is defined as the process of transferring an image whether it is image to paper or light to a surface. That being said, I explore the concept of traditional printmaking with intaglio, relief and installation. Within my practice I work with relief and intaglio to create imagery of natural and found patterns. Using oxidized steal, I create collographs that blur the line between the natural and the man-made. Moreover, I find the slow and labored process of carving to be meditative. The organic patterns, imagery and ephemeral gestures that often appear in my work reference the chaos of the natural world and structure, we as humans, impose upon it.
In addition, I work with natural and artificial materials to discuss how one relates to the natural versus the man-made or the objective world versus the spiritual world. By enabling these materials to collaborate, my work begins a conversation about man’s need to simplify the complex and assign complexity to the simple—we need to feel as if we understand the world around us. My interest in these relationships is key to my practice as I, as a human being, strive for this understanding. For me, Intaglio, relief and installation are a means to an end—each process functions as a moving meditation allowing me “to arrive at the universal through the particular.”
More of Carlee Myers' work can be found here
Catch up with Carlee on Social Networks: You Tube
Contact: carleeannmyers@gmail.com
Catch up with Carlee on Social Networks: You Tube
Contact: carleeannmyers@gmail.com