Charcoal and Pastel on Paper
20" x 16" x 2"
Matted and Framed
Arrives Ready to Hang
"Because these works are composed of direct embossed impressions of articles of clothing, they are naturally scaled to human size, and have a physicality that is immediately relatable to the body. The raised texture of the embossed paper grabs the pigments in the media, enabling me to selectively deepen and sharpen the images, and providing a sense of presence in absence. I layer washes of charcoal, graphite and other media over the surface, erasing and adding, until the original embossing is almost completely obscured. Some of the drawings are then rinsed of their layers with water, literally hand-washed, wrung out, and allowed to dry. Of course, evidence of the initial marks remain. I then re-apply media, deepening the quality of the surface as I draw back into the image, or make additional rubbings of the original item to bring the presence of the embossing back to the surface. This is done with powdered graphite, charcoal pencil and pastel."
Andrea Garland