THE ALCHEMY SUITE

As I continued on from the beginning of ” The Threads Project”, not only did the definitions of “art” and “craft” become less distinct in my work, but the ideas of what were the borders of painting and drawing. The introduction of the term “works on paper” definitely provided a place within which many these new kinds of works could reside.

“New Alchemy” is a work in which I chose to use tracing paper. The paper’s translucent characteristic, the receptiveness of the surface to acrylic paint, and the crispness and slightly rigid quality allowed me to shape the edges and collage shapes onto its surface.

NEW ALCHEMY 2007   Acrylic on tracing paper  38 x 18″

As is my habit, this work is part of serial thinking and the use of ideas and motifs in various sizes, materials, and formats.

The “stitch-mark”  evolved into a circular, wheel-like variation in “The Alchemy Suite”, three of which are seen below:

ALCHEMY SUITE-TWO  2007  Acrylic, pastel on paper

ALCHEMY SUITE-THREE  2007   Acrylic, pastel on paper

ALCHEMY SUITE-FORMATION  2007   Acrylic, pastel on paper

One could ask, “Are these drawings or paintings?” Is “New Alchemy” a drawing? A painting? A “work on paper”? Or all of these?