Falling For You...

As of late- I have been working on small scale mixed media pieces. I have a great passion for these little buggers! They usually call to me late at night when I am in bed, twisting + turning, and arising from a restless sleep. I can't possibly wait for the sun to rise!
I have been reflecting on what I want to do with my life/ childhood dreams (something I think most reflect on)and these collages have been feeling such reflections. Researching childhood books,and rereading/ revisiting my favorite worlds I once visited, have brought upon flashbacks of a world that was not so long ago. Some pieces are my interpretation of pages from: "The Little Prince","A Wrinkle in Time","The Secret Garden", etc. other pieces are from me, and what images + ideas + words influenced and came from my childhood. I am encompassed by the women I love, now enriching their lives by expanding their families, and having babies. Seeing women I have grown-up with make a family has been very influential to my art.
Along with the symbolism of these images, I am loving the ability to use a variety of mediums and the free feeling of juxtaposing ideas however I feel has been empowering. I love feeling the grains in which the paper is made of, the paste on my hands, the smell of the paint, and the sound of the brush as it hits the material when composing. (even if it all seems cliche, it is very true) These pieces maybe be small in scale- yes, but they are huge in meaning and process. It is enriching to be this much in love with all the materials I am using. I am falling back in love with art...

(I have posted one piece above and more will follow)

A Splash.

My work is influenced by my surroundings: nature walks and the discoveries that unfold, emerging seasons, friends, family- especially my Nan who influenced my medium when she was struggling with Alzheimer’s disease, memories that are lost and found, activism, political climates and artists such as Wendy Ewald, Zena Briski and Gustav Klimt. I like to capture the moments most let pass by. To me, photography is a method, a means of visual story telling. It keeps those of the past alive in memory and a way to have the present reflect on their situations.

Once hearing of my Nan’s diagnoses, photography opened a door for me. With this tool, this art I could capture moments in life and share them with new and old alike. Photographs, to me, are pieces of history. We can put a series together and have a story or simply one photograph can say a thousand things. Photography was my way to cope and to hold on to moments that pass by so quickly, the ones we usually take for granted. It was a way to share moments with those who weren’t around and to remember those who are gone.

Photography is not my only medium of choice. I like finding and using scraps of material, found or given to make collages, mixing them with paint, photos, organic materials, metal or different natural adhesives. I relate this type of juxtaposition to society, and how it is created by different types of people from all over and different places to make a whole picture, a whole society. I like to think of my collage making process as taking different materials with different meanings and making a whole image, concrete or abstract.

The process of making art for me is like walking down an unpaved bumpy, dirt road. Every step is unlike the last; Each step is new but not always good; With every step I get closer to my destination; With every step little pebbles stick to the sole of my shoe and I carry them, they help remind me of where I have been.

By: Mary Terese Vigliotti