VICE VERSA: Artist's Q & A with Sarah Alexander and Kay Hartung
Questions from Kay to Sarah:
What is your inspiration for the botanical forms you use in your work?
My mother is British, and my dad was a master vegetable gardener. Many of my family members are avid gardeners, love of nature and varieties of botanicals were always discussed and surrounded me during my childhood. I am drawn to the symbolism of hidden botanical meanings and am intrigued by the life cycle of plants as they grow, go to seed, and emerge again. It helps me process challenges in understanding life and its mysteries.
Is the long format of your drawings a different way of working for you? Why have you chosen this format? I chose the long format to simulate a botanical timeline of changing seasons and power dynamics using plants as a metaphor. Something about building the tower of images morphing as I drew them over time resonated with me. With the stack of crowns in my God Save Your Mad Parade sculpture, I explored the heavy burden of responsibilities that traditionally are viewed as an honor as too heavy to bear alone, and the absurd notion that one person should have all the power and responsibility. The vertical format emphasizes the weight of that burden.
Alexander — left: Tread Ye Lightly - watercolor & ink on paper, 63 x 15 inches | right: The Show Must Go On - watercolor & ink on paper, 63 x 17 inches
Working in both drawing and sculpture, how does each inform the other?
It all starts with a drawing. I had been curious about what my drawings would look like in 3D form, so I tried it, and found the experience of drawing in space with steel to be extremely cathartic. The power that working with steel gives my sculptural interpretations is satisfying. The physicality of making a steel piece is also energizing versus drawing for hours in a quiet meditative trance. With sculpting, I must be more present, and when I draw, I’m able to disappear into the process and let my subconscious take over. I love both techniques and find that one feeds the other as I alternate between the two mediums.
How has the disruption of moving, living in a temporary location and moving to a new home effected your work?
It has been a challenge to say the least, to prepare for an exhibit without the comfort of my large supply packed studio. Instead, I rented a small studio and brough only the essential materials I thought I’d need. A lot of the seeds and plants that I drew and incorporated into this show were collected from the garden of my previous home of 30 years. The symbolism I focused on was focused on transitions and the passing of time. Mostly about my being a caregiver for my aging parents, but also about leaving my home where I raised my family and feeling a sense of urgency about it all.
Questions from Sarah to Kay:
Your new work is very different from your previous work. What motivated you to go in a different direction?
Starting in 2021, I was displaced from my studio and had to work in a temporary space where I could not do encaustic. When I found a studio with ventilation it had been almost two years since I had worked in encaustic. I had previously done work based on microscopic imagery for almost 16 years. With all the Covid imagery that was going around, I thought that maybe people did not want to see microscopic images and it was time for a change. Color was the reason I became an artist. I have always loved geometry and abstraction. I see the work as an antidote for these dark times.
Hartung — left: Geocolor 11 - encaustic on wood 24 x 20.5 x 1 inches | right: Geocolor 5 - encaustic on wood 22 x 14.5 x 1 inches
Can you describe the sound art that you’ve incorporated into this exhibit?
I see these pieces as characters with their own personalities. I began to think about what kind of sounds they might make. My husband Paul is a musician and has collaborated with me. He has composed short tunes for several of the pieces. We have QR codes near the pieces so you can hear the tunes as you view the artwork.
How did you create all of the textures and patterns in your pieces? Is this new for you, or have you always used texture?
It is done with various tools and stencils using a technique called accretion. After starting the texture with an incising tool or a stencil, you brush on slightly cooled encaustic, fusing between layers until the texture is built up. My previous work in encaustic did not use texture very much. Most of the work had very glassy smooth surfaces that you can create with encaustic. I have been having fun making the different textures - discovering ways to create different patterns. They relate to some of the patterns I was using in encaustic monotypes and paintings.
Where do you get the ideas for the shapes you chose?
I just do lots of small sketches. The shapes all come from a combination of geometric forms and organic forms. They reference architecture, music, nature, the human body, and relate to symbols of stability and the shelter of home. They are whimsical and joyful.
Can you talk about the “Ship Shape installation”?
About 30 years ago the Charlestown Navy Yard invited artists to come and take these wooden mold forms that they were discarding. They were molds for pipes and such for ships so we called them Ship Shapes. When I had to move out of my studio I found the box of them but could not throw them out. I decided to paint them in the same bright colors that I had been using with my Geocolor pieces. I wasn’t sure that they would get into this show but was encouraged by fellow artists that they really related well to the other work. The installation was very spontaneous as we were hanging the show.
NOTE — There will be an Artists Talk on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2PM. Please register with the link below:
"Vice Versa" Artists Talk with Sarah Alexander and Kay Hartung