Jane Allen Nodine
STATEMENT
Primary Research
Merging traditional and historical techniques of image and art-making with contemporary forms of technology.
Influences
Growing up watching my father drafting architectural plans for his construction business, building and marking-making became embedded in my psyche. A respect and joy of the natural world influences my journey that includes delightful memories of a maternal grandmother whose textile arts were rivaled only by her green thumb and ability to make music.
Artist Statement
I make art that gives viewers an experience for looking.
Having a strong interest in materiality and a personal connection to the natural world, my work is inspired by elements in nature that show the passage of time and a record of aging or past activity. Informed by the macro and micro world I focus on explorations of mark-making and substance manipulation that yield unusual and seductive visual results. Oxidation and discolorations form in naturally occurring patterns and these impressions spark my interest and feed the fuel of my studio practice. My work incorporates directed and naturally occurring marks that I collect by printing oxidized metal, burned markings and extraneous or accidental marks collected in the process of making. As these collected elements are applied to panels and papers between layers of wax medium some become obscured in the hazy film while others become more evident and appear to float or come forward in the luminous properties of the material. I came to use wax for its malleability and aesthetic qualities and was immediately drawn to the cerebral and physiological breadth of beeswax that has a rich history of application, symbolism, mystique, and direct ties to the natural world. My attention to surface and detailed foundation layers places an emphasis on the appearance of work as I strive to attract the viewer in for closer observation. I work intuitively and describe my approach to art-making as a process of excavation. There is no map or definitive end and no preconceived plan of travel, only a sense that something waits to be revealed.
Jane Allen Nodine 2018
Merging traditional and historical techniques of image and art-making with contemporary forms of technology.
Influences
Growing up watching my father drafting architectural plans for his construction business, building and marking-making became embedded in my psyche. A respect and joy of the natural world influences my journey that includes delightful memories of a maternal grandmother whose textile arts were rivaled only by her green thumb and ability to make music.
Artist Statement
I make art that gives viewers an experience for looking.
Having a strong interest in materiality and a personal connection to the natural world, my work is inspired by elements in nature that show the passage of time and a record of aging or past activity. Informed by the macro and micro world I focus on explorations of mark-making and substance manipulation that yield unusual and seductive visual results. Oxidation and discolorations form in naturally occurring patterns and these impressions spark my interest and feed the fuel of my studio practice. My work incorporates directed and naturally occurring marks that I collect by printing oxidized metal, burned markings and extraneous or accidental marks collected in the process of making. As these collected elements are applied to panels and papers between layers of wax medium some become obscured in the hazy film while others become more evident and appear to float or come forward in the luminous properties of the material. I came to use wax for its malleability and aesthetic qualities and was immediately drawn to the cerebral and physiological breadth of beeswax that has a rich history of application, symbolism, mystique, and direct ties to the natural world. My attention to surface and detailed foundation layers places an emphasis on the appearance of work as I strive to attract the viewer in for closer observation. I work intuitively and describe my approach to art-making as a process of excavation. There is no map or definitive end and no preconceived plan of travel, only a sense that something waits to be revealed.
Jane Allen Nodine 2018