Artist Statement

"Life is a bird. And you are the branch that sways back and forth."

--Erik Fosnes Hansen, "Tales of Protection"

B.A. Liberal Arts, Bucknell University

B.S. Civil Engineering, Rutgers University

I strive to maintain a hand-crafted, original 'feel' to all my work. I have always admired pieces where I can see the maker's or artist's 'hand' in it and I intentionally use tools and techniques that enhance this quality in my own work. A hammer mark, a brushstroke; I have always looked on these 'signs of making' as something that sets hand-craft above and apart from mechanical mass production. In the same way that the Japanese aesthetic of 'Wabi Sabi' celebrates the 'perfection of imperfection', I think variations in each piece simply add to it's beauty and uniqueness.

Although many of the paintings you will find on this site are executed using a traditional approach such as pure transparent watercolors or sumi-e ink painting, I often incorporate other materials such as gesso, colored pencil, textured paper and fibers and metals. Similarly, my jewelry pieces are mostly created using traditional metalsmithing techniques, but I also work in Precious Metal Clay, enamel, polymer clay and fiber. In many pieces, the techniques and materials are combined. Ultimately, I enjoy the challenge of finding the connections between materials that perhaps would not ordinarily appear to relate, or working a material in a non-traditional way. Hopefully, each painting or piece of jewelry I produce is a statement of that challenge resolved in a unique, appealing way.

Marlee Page