Artist Statement: Pushing the Envelope

"Pushing the Envelope" as a metaphor has many meanings in my new body of work.

Handwritten letters are part of our lives, obviously rarer now in our new technology era, than before. They are precious and we hold onto them, preserving them, passing them from generation to generation. Handwritten letters are physical evidence, close to our hearts. They are treasures and represent significant communications between close people, family, and friends. In the letters are captured memories of told or untold stories. They could be mysterious. Letters could be full of unconditional love, passion, uplifting beauty, encouragement, and dreams awaiting us in the future.

Envelopes as a material at this exhibit are deeply connected to the generations of the Meibohm family. A century ago, they were on display and sold at the Art Shop on Connecticut Street. Later the envelopes were moved around, lost significance of their purpose and ended up stored in the attic of this gallery. A year ago, I came across those unused envelopes, and when my dear friend Grace asked me if I could see any use of the envelopes in my art, my eyes started sparkling. I recognized immediately they were something special and could be part of my future exhibit.

Connections between envelopes and the beautiful letters of Walter Meibohm to his mother from WW2 are another layer on top of everything. The screen print of the letter from France and an image of the Statue of Liberty postcard on the translucent organza and paper envelopes brought together a dream about the freedom at the end of the war. All is connected; all is interwoven together in the fabric of our being, past and present – going back and forth. We are all on our own path, which one day will be history for somebody else.

Constant experimentation is a big part of my art. I challenge myself with new ideas, exploring different materials, especially “unwanted stuff” which doesn’t have a future and is going to be eventually thrown away. That material offers enormous potential to be transformed into something unexpected, to be part of a new artistic expression. As an artist, I’m not afraid to go forward, I’m not afraid to break the rules and push boundaries, I’m not afraid to fail or make mistakes. I’m learning from them and turning those to my advantage. Am I pushing the envelope? I guess yes - at least trying.