And now for something completely different….
I am very excited to complete the first two works of my new series, Family Portraits. This series lies at the intersection of heritage and family history, art history and digital technology, craft and fine art, grief, memory, mental illness, addiction, and love.
I am 3/4 Belgian-American, and I am lucky to have visited Belgium several times. This series involves combing through boxes of family photographs and researching the art of the Flemish masters. A digital collage is printed onto cotton fabric, layered with lace, batting, and backing and stitched by and/or machine. Each portrait is an homage, an exploration of family dynamics and grief. All is done without the use of AI.
The first work is based on Jan Steen’s famous Merry Family. There is a lot going on in this painting! You can learn all about it here at the Rijksmuseum.
I feel this is a rich vein for exploration, and I love finding the perfect elements to combine in a collage. What do you think?