Water's Edge Series, 2014
Brush Pen on Bristol
17"x14"
Orignial Artwork by Audrey Renee Whitlatch
My work has grown from the uncontrollable process of mark making. Exploring the details of nature to find my marks mimicked in the existence of life has convinced me that this unexplored force needed to be a focus in my work.
Working in layers has allowed a harmonious fusion of color and textures creating a dense, but luscious surface on each print. These organic works on paper transform themselves each run through the press. With this buildup of layers and repetitive mark making, the paper accepts less and less ink leaving no room for new color but on the surface of other inks. This results in a glossy reflective texture, of ink on ink. One can get lost inside each print, discover untraceable depth, uncountable layers, and find themselves resonating in my tiny worlds.
After pushing the monotype process in such a way, I soon began to see how my mark making carried over into each printmaking process, which left me seeking more. More processes, more materials and more reasoning behind these uncontrolled marks.
Experiencing different cultures and unimaginable scenery only kept me moving farther west. While in Oregon, I had the fortunate opportunity to be outside every day immersed in nature and its elements. I developed a passion for small plant life, bugs, birds and tiny living organisms. I was amazed with their ability to adapt no matter the conditions or seasons. When one develops this immense connection and sense of passion for small life, one strives to protect it. And to become aware of the vast environmental devastation going on, one can only do their part and teach others that we are one with nature.
Gift giving is a one aspect of our materialized culture, a culture that is depleting our natural resources. Experiencing holiday retail first hand, I wanted to create small batch items that are great for gifts, reflect, incorporate or mimic nature in some way and are fashioned with an earth first concept. Buy highlighting natures beauty in a consumer aspect, I’m doing work as an artist in a different way. Though my craft very much reflects my art, my mark making is absent from my craft and thus continues to reappear no matter what medium I experiment with.
I began to collect and sort found and reclaimed items along with production waste and wanted to push these materials from my craft to my art, as art is very material demanding. Mixed media could accommodate such an idea. Experimenting with gelatin plates, collage and colograph has allowed me to incorporate printmaking back into my art in a sustainable way.
With each new process, no matter how vast or minimal the background is, the focus still becomes on the organic growing force in the foreground. While marks compile to resemble abstract flowers, seedpods and plant life, do not ignore their almost alien form. They are our regenerative process, to make amends of what we have broken and to remind us what shapes our future.