This series of work entitled, “Flight Series”, evolved from my anxiety regarding first the Afghanistan situation and then the potential of an American war with Iraq. The oil pastel pieces came first, with their dark, brooding, ominous tone. The traditional symbol of the dove representing peace and harmony contrasting with the hawk as predator and symbol of war emerged, while the names of our fighting jets, such as “Nighthawk”, reverberated in my mind.
The monoprints began to involve other bird imagery as metaphor, such as the crow as seer and messenger, and the songbird as hope. The dancing figures, nude watching woman, and the child’s drawings of flying women and introspective girl, are all other ways of expressing a sense of yearning, joy, or trepidation. The netting imagery can be seen as cage, barrier, or floating cloth. The string represents serendipitous journey, and elements from plants or trees bring in the natural rhythms and forces of nature.
These monoprints are one of a kind
works of art (no multiples of the same image), that have been created
using oil-based printing inks on a plate
that made impressions on the paper by being hand-pulled on an etching
press. Many
of these monoprints have been through the press several times with
different imagery and color of ink each time. Some have been hand-colored
with
colored pencils or watercolor after the final pressing. Some began with
a collograph plate I had created earlier from digital photographs of tree
foliage.
Many
have transfers added later using Xeroxes of newspaper images, or
my own drawings of trees or nudes, or my 11-year-old daughter’s drawings.
Silhouettes of grasses, feathers, or string were created by laying those
materials between
the ink and paper as the piece went through the press.
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