amy miami
Copyright © 2016 Amy Richard. All Rights Reserved. Dimensions: 12 X 11 inches Silkscreen pulp painting on artist-made kozo (paper mulberry) Simultaneously appearing and disappearing, the image of a sea urchin exoskeleton (called a "test") speaks to the cycles of life and continuation of energy that occurs as the remains of a former life are always transformed into something new.
Copyright ©2016 Amy Miami Richard. All rights reserved. silkscreen pulp painting on artist-made mulberry (kozo) paper 24 X 18 inches Ever since I began beachcombing as a child, I tried to find these specimens fully intact and rarely did due to their extremely thin, translucent shells. Later in life, I learned to appreciate even the broken relics as they remind me of just how fragile we all are.
© 2017 Amy Richard, nature pulp print on artist-made kozo paper; 11 x 8.5 inches
Copyright © 2016 Amy Richard. All Rights Reserved. Dimensions: 12 X 11 inches Silkscreen pulp painting on artist-made kozo (paper mulberry) Simultaneously appearing and disappearing, the image of a sea urchin exoskeleton (called a "test") speaks to the cycles of life and continuation of energy that occurs as the remains of a former life are always transformed into something new.
Artist Statement
The shells and other natural relics I collect and study—and that animate much of my work—serve as objects I can “think” with, inviting a host of questions about the nature’s astonishing energy and powers of regeneration.
The discipline of drawing and sculpting from these forms provides heightened awareness and forces me to be more intimate with the objects as I analyze their construction and get a sense of their “being.” Only recently did I begin to understand that this is my way of reading nature — to better understand the science and to be closer to its mysteries.
This may explain why I am also drawn to papermaking processes:
Investigations into the synergistic bonds between water, cellulose fiber and raw pigments are a big part of my practice, captivating and providing windows into nature’s own processes. Like the objects I am so fascinated by, my paintings and sculptures are artifacts of an ongoing collaboration.