4/6/08

my sunday local artist ramble

Fossils of Imagined Territories

Deluxe 40 Piece Lustre Set

it is another sunday already! the week flew by. just want to say that the opening last night was a lot of fun. it was so great to see some Massachusetts friends and catch up. They are all doing such amazing things with themselves which made me very happy. Hudson is a really interesting town that I want to explore more of. tonight we are off to the Egg in Albany to hear some bluegrass. I could not be more excited to enjoy some live music for a few hours in such a spectacular venue.

In the tradition of Woodstock's own Levon Helms saturday night barn parties coined "the Rambles", I have created my own ramble. This one is about local artists that I admire. The person I am presenting this week is especially awesome in my book. Besides the fact that her art is incredible, she is a rock hound (much like myself!) I have been collecting minerals and gems for 12 years now and she is the first artist I have seen that utilizes the awesomeness (if that is even a word) of the geologic world and transforms its key characteristics into magnificent encaustic sculptures.

If you have not already guessed, I am writing about Laura Moriarty . She works at the infamous R&F Paints in Kingston, though I am unsure where she lives. Her art, to me, does not just mimic the natural elements found in such rock specimens, and in essence simply produce a duplicate of this form with new materials. Instead, a new breed of object is created in her work- as if the natural world and Laura's human imagination came together as parents to introduce a new life form to the world. When I look at her objects I am transformed into a narrative. One which forces me to look at the patterns that exist in nature and of course, the human influence on it. Ultimately what Laura proves to me is that even with encaustic as a material that can be controlled by her touch, there is still an element of surprise and chance. That is beautiful to me. Hats off to Laura, who is one of the outrageous and talented local artists you can find in our very own Hudson Valley.


Gemboree, detail

Kristin's Geode

1 comment:

Unknown said...

laura's work looks absolutely stunning--unreal. i love how she has taken such a crazy and versatile medium and created something beautiful and representational of natural objects--the idea of setting each striking specimen in as fossil/geode/gemstone is so utterly cool.