Life in Layers – The Art of Donna Bozarth
I see snap-shots of life everywhere: from peeling layers of weathered old buildings, to broken down trucks, leaf-stained sidewalks and kids playing in the dog-days of summer. I find beauty in expressive mark-making and enjoy creating layers and texture.
My Life in Layers series translates my portraiture and figurative images onto paper and clay through the use of different printmaking techniques such as monoprints; silkscreen; linocuts; dry point engraving; solar plate etching; cyanotypes; collagraphs; stencils and clay monoprinting. Taking traditional printmaking techniques to clay meant I had to create unique recipes for ceramic inks, slips and pastels that would be suitable for clay. These processes even led me to building a specialized printing plate for clay monoprinting and making my own paper clay.
As a portraiture and figurative artist, I am fascinated with people and the wonders of life. I want my work to celebrate the marks we make on the world, those imperfections and show the beautiful quirkiness that is in all of us; much like a life in layers.
