Clockwise starting with the pink collage: Regenerating Sea Grass, 5" x 7", 2013. Ink & found collage on paper; Flowering Pod, 8.5" x 11, 2012. Ink, graphie & found collage on paper; Untitled #7, 8.5" x 11", 2012. Ink & found collage on paper; Regenerating Bulb, 8.5" x 11", 2013. Ink & found collage on paper; View of collaging materials on the artist's work table; The Artist, Jenny Brown
"My recent collage work focuses on my exploration of creating harmony amongst elements of the natural world. I bring together seemingly different species to create a single entity, and strive to show how something beautiful can blossom from an unlikely pairing of creatures. In this melding of plant an animal, I discover flowers cascading from the darkest corners of nature, sea creatures reaching out of the ocean to exist in a world of light, and dying roots tangling with new blooms to capture one last breath.
I have a special interest in working with found materials, and have incorporated antique collage pieces into these works. I like to think of the use of these materials as bringing new life to long forgotten stories (as the blossoms in my collages bring new life to perhaps a long forgotten species). As a lifelong collector of paper ephemera, the gathering of these materials is an important part of my process. Although I have certain antique dealers I like to visit for paper goods, I also love to search for materials in new and unexpected places (such as taking a risk and buying an entire box of unseen 1950’s greeting cards, and then going through each one to look for usable pieces). Meeting the owners of the papers, hearing or reading their stories (or how they came to own the materials), inspires me to reimagine the images I have before me."—Jenny Brown, Artist
jennybrownart.com
Providence, Rhode Island
