Earth
Matters
Exploring Environmental Issues
Marian Osher
I feel a
calling to express my concern and use my art as an aesthetic
vehicle for helping to raise awareness of environmental red
flags. I have chosen to use solvent free water-soluble media
to highlight a diverse range of environmental issues including
global warming, threatened biodiversity, forest destruction,
mountain top removal, and light and noise pollution.
A news article,
"Warming Tied to Extinction of Frog Species" by Juliet Eilperin,
(Washington Post, January 12, 2006) and five years of activism
with the Buffalo Field Campaign motivated me to expand my knowledge
about environmental issues. Other news articles, books, exploration
on the web, attending lectures and volunteering at an animal
rights conference have broadened my education and deepened my
commitment.
It is my
hope that this art will deepen the viewer's personal connection
with the importance of living in harmony with non-human creatures
and the natural resources of our only earth.
Media
The preliminary drawing is mounted on a beveled masonite panel.
I coat a thin sheet of transparent mylar with gum Arabic and
place it on top of the masonite support panel. Always working
to music, I develop my painting on the mylar. I soak Lanaquarelle
paper in water for about 10 minutes and blot it "kiss" dry.
The paper is then placed on top of the mylar and the masonite
panel. Then the plate is printed on an etching press, yielding
one print. This series of monotypes is a varied of edition limited
to 6 prints. Since the plate must be completely repainted each
print is unique. The masonite panels and the mylar will be recycled
to create new artwork.
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