Creature Series

Creature 1. Junk mail, oil paint, plastic grocery bag, acrylic wash
5 x 3 x 1.5 inches

The Creature series started in 2015. I think of these like portraits of individuals, rather than a herd of separate units.

Creature 3. Junk mail, post-it notes, oil paint, acrylic wash; 7 x 6 x 1.5 inches.

The Creatures have appendages that sprout from the tops, sides, or interiors.

Creature 2. Junk mail, post-it notes, oil paint, acrylic wash; 6 x 7 x 1.5 inches.

Some of these appendages are like a halo around the top. Others are more like a handle on a mug or teapot.

Creature 10. Junk mail, plastic grocery bag, oil paint, acrylic wash. 5 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

I used discarded plastic grocery bags to create sprouts of organic shapes through the tops of some Creatures. Similar to the thread loops used in previous pieces, the plastic bags evoke hair on a scalp or plants growing from the ground. Both hair and plants have “roots” under the surface, as do these odd plastic tufts.

Creature 5. Vellum, post-it notes, oil paint. 6 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

Some of the looped appendages remind me of “thought bubbles,” with an echo of the Creature identity in the painted shapes.

Creature 4 Junk mail, found paper, acrylic; 6 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

I love using junk mail, because it has so much built-in information and contextual baggage. The loops emanate from the main boxes like thoughts or expression.

Creature 13. Vellum, post-it-notes, oil paint, graphite. Approximately 4 x 6 x 2 inches.

I continued creating the window-like oil paintings directly on the surface of some Creature components.

Creature 18. Junk mail, acrylic, oil paint, post-it notes. 3.25 x 3 x 1.75 inches.

I also created acrylic washes of flat color over parts of the junk mail paper, concealing and unifying certain areas.

Creature 17. Paper, junk mail, acrylic, oil paint; 7 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

Using acrylic to paint flat, geometric shapes, I contrasted the active views from the oil-painted “windows,” with the emptier placeholders.

Creature 16. Paper, found paper, oil paint. 6 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

The folded rhythms of the origami boxes allowed me to exploit scale changes and natural proportional ratios, like a human body.

Creature 15. Junk mail, acrylic, oil paint, found plastic grocery bag. 5.5 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

Some of the Creatures have interior shapes and colors that are a jarring contrast to the external identiy.

Creature 14. Junk mail, found paper, acrylic; 4 x 5 x 1.5 inches.

The wonky, irregular paper folds and warped surfaces subvert the machine-like geometry of the parts.

Creature 12. Junk mail, found paper, oil paint, acrylic. 5 x 4.5 x 1.5 inches.

Creature 9. Vellum, junk mail, oil paint. 5 x 5 x 1.5 inches.

Creature 8. Paper, post-it notes, acrylic; 5.5 x 3 x 1.5 inches.

Creature 7. Vellum, post-it notes, oil paint, thread. 5 x 7 x 1.5 inches.

Creature 6. Junk mail, acrylic, oil paint. 7 x 7 x 1.5 inches.