Artist Statement
Kathy Moore
Assemblage Artist
BA Art Education, Anderson College
Secondary Visual Arts Instructor
Courses: AP (Advanced Placement Studio Art), IB (International
Baccalaureate-Visual Arts), and Art 3-5
I vividly remember visiting my grandmother's jewelry and novelty store in Calais, Maine as a young child. I was fascinated with the contents of the drawers in her storage room—there were new things, old things, and fragments of objects tossed into the drawers. I remember taking each item out one by one and thoroughly examining it. To this day I enjoy trying to figure out the purpose and history of an object. The curiosity I developed as a child exploring my grandmother’s store now plays an important role in my art making.
Throughout my life, I have been both a collector and an artist. My assemblage work combines both of these passions. I have an attachment to old, damaged, forgotten and discarded items and, simply, I am compelled to take them home. To most people, these objects may seem mundane or useless. I, however, live for my trips to thrift shops, yard sales, junk stores, estate sales, and even the occasional trash heap to find the perfect curiosity. I call them my “treasures.” The assemblage process is a quest for me to find a way to bring these pieces together in a way that tells a new story. As I imagine each object’s story and history, I pull together these trinkets to give them a new artistic identity.
In my assemblages, these found objects are combined with encaustic* and other elements to become a cohesive whole. The objects themselves serve different purposes—sometimes it’s the functionality, the shape, color, or texture that drives the composition. I am drawn to old drawers as substrates; they provide the perfect vignettes for layering elements for my stories. When I start a new piece, I never quite know how each story will begin or end. Intuition plays a role in the process from the beginning to the end—knowing when I’m finished. It’s a method of tinkering until the moment when my story has unfolded. Depending on my mood, the result can range from whimsical to a more serious reaction to a past experience.
It has been in the past few years that I have merged my passion for collecting with my passion for creating. For me, the art of assemblage has infinite possibilities for combination and expression. When I work in my studio time feels different—days seem like hours and hours seem like minutes—this is a true indication of my passion!
*Encaustic is a wax based paint (composed of beeswax, resin and pigment), that is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to a porous surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint. Encaustic is perhaps the most beautiful of all artists' paint, and is as versatile as any 21st century medium. It can be polished to a high gloss, carved, scraped, layered, collaged, dipped, cast, modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with oil. It cools immediately, so that there is no drying time, yet it can always be reworked.
[edit]
Assemblage Artist
BA Art Education, Anderson College
Secondary Visual Arts Instructor
Courses: AP (Advanced Placement Studio Art), IB (International
Baccalaureate-Visual Arts), and Art 3-5
I vividly remember visiting my grandmother's jewelry and novelty store in Calais, Maine as a young child. I was fascinated with the contents of the drawers in her storage room—there were new things, old things, and fragments of objects tossed into the drawers. I remember taking each item out one by one and thoroughly examining it. To this day I enjoy trying to figure out the purpose and history of an object. The curiosity I developed as a child exploring my grandmother’s store now plays an important role in my art making.
Throughout my life, I have been both a collector and an artist. My assemblage work combines both of these passions. I have an attachment to old, damaged, forgotten and discarded items and, simply, I am compelled to take them home. To most people, these objects may seem mundane or useless. I, however, live for my trips to thrift shops, yard sales, junk stores, estate sales, and even the occasional trash heap to find the perfect curiosity. I call them my “treasures.” The assemblage process is a quest for me to find a way to bring these pieces together in a way that tells a new story. As I imagine each object’s story and history, I pull together these trinkets to give them a new artistic identity.
In my assemblages, these found objects are combined with encaustic* and other elements to become a cohesive whole. The objects themselves serve different purposes—sometimes it’s the functionality, the shape, color, or texture that drives the composition. I am drawn to old drawers as substrates; they provide the perfect vignettes for layering elements for my stories. When I start a new piece, I never quite know how each story will begin or end. Intuition plays a role in the process from the beginning to the end—knowing when I’m finished. It’s a method of tinkering until the moment when my story has unfolded. Depending on my mood, the result can range from whimsical to a more serious reaction to a past experience.
It has been in the past few years that I have merged my passion for collecting with my passion for creating. For me, the art of assemblage has infinite possibilities for combination and expression. When I work in my studio time feels different—days seem like hours and hours seem like minutes—this is a true indication of my passion!
*Encaustic is a wax based paint (composed of beeswax, resin and pigment), that is kept molten on a heated palette. It is applied to a porous surface and then reheated in order to fuse the paint. Encaustic is perhaps the most beautiful of all artists' paint, and is as versatile as any 21st century medium. It can be polished to a high gloss, carved, scraped, layered, collaged, dipped, cast, modeled, sculpted, textured, and combined with oil. It cools immediately, so that there is no drying time, yet it can always be reworked.
[edit]