A conversation between the artists about the work and what inspired it…..Monica’s dad, Sal, and Patty’s mom, Evie

PD - This collaboration is so exciting, relevant, and long overdue! We have known each other since 1988 and became like family at the get-go. When I think of Sal, I am immediately reminded of his gregarious charm as he would give my kids endless piggyback rides at your parent's house when my family came over for Easter dessert. His magnetic warmth was instantly felt. What comes to mind when you think about Evie?

MD - When I think about Evie, I first see her smiling eyes. I see her navigating her way around the little apartment in Marblehead in that marvelous historic building. I hear her laughing after making us that chicken dinner. She asked for my help consolidating the leftovers into a smaller container, but it wasn’t a container—it was a baggie. This soupy meal was being poured into a baggie that I was holding out like a trash bag while she lifted the big roasting pan and dumped it in. My favorite Evie story however is The Facelift Story. She—being a fun parent (not something I was really used to)—made a big impression on me.

Sal and Monica, 2018: Revere Beach (left) and Mt. Auburn Hospital (right)

MD -Thank you for that memory of Sal. It’s great to hear what people remember about him as he was very fun-loving and silly. I didn’t realize how “far out” his thinking was until I was caring for him toward the end. And not just from dementia! Did you have something similar with Evie where you discovered something beyond who she was to you growing up or while your kids were growing up?

Evie and Patty (left), and Patty, Evie, and Sabrina (right)

PD - I gained some perspective and understanding of Evie once my kids were born. When she interacted with them, I could see that over-protection, worry, and interjecting were a bit too much, but I saw how endearing it was. Now I can see the humor in some of the experiences I had that made us want to cringe at the time. When I first went to college, she loaded me up with mace spray, fearful that an assault was imminent. I was also lectured about how careful I should be. It’s scary out there you know! Ironically, if we were out and saw a young man so much as grin at me, she would suggest I smile and wink at him. Strange and very contrary to her vocalized fears. Evie was an enigma! A particular recollection of a guy at a gas station became the inspiration for my piece “Give Him a Wink”

Patty deGrandpre’s *Give Him a Wink!* (left) and *Tweed & Corduroy* (right)

MD - Do you ever feel like you’re extending your relationship with Evie? This is something I think about a lot as I discover new things about Sal by going through the paper items. For me, creating these collages can be like building someone’s mind.

PD - Absolutely! Going through all those old photos has a real “going down the rabbit hole” effect. I loved looking at her surroundings, especially the objects, and trying to decipher where the photo was taken. The photos taken of her with my father were telling. Their expressions changed as time went on. I now can really see the forced smile an obvious effort to shield me from the ugliness.

PD - Now to the artwork itself….I love the collages that have that wonderful balance of clusters of detail within negative space. It’s intricate and deliberate but has spontaneity at the same time. Do you start with sparseness and add to it or do you start with a lot of fodder and remove it?

MD - I go through many many iterations to make these labored pieces look un-labored! I tend to pile it on and take stuff away, and I take pictures in between to remember different layouts. Collage can’t really be done upright, but I found a way by hanging the base and using a dab of glue stick or blue tape to try out a piece. I can stand back and see what it needs. One way to overcome my overthinking (a side effect of being a designer) is to have days where I decide that I will glue as soon as I find a pleasing combination. Then that is my new base, and I have to deal with it. I love the “limitation.”

DeSalvo working on *A Bus Tour in the Woods—Stage 6*

PD - This leads to my next question. Because you are using materials that are personal in nature, do you get distracted or overwhelmed as you sift through the visual matter you use as you create the artwork? I know I certainly do.

MD - Not anymore. Either these bits and pieces are in a folder in a file cabinet or they are out in the world. I like them being out in the world. Some of the items are scanned as I use them for bases as well as collage pieces so they have multiple lives. If I ever get overwhelmed it is from mining through recordings and videos for words and expressions.

DeSalvo’s monotypes on her father’s documents

MD - I like how you use old and new photography and weave imagery from your travels into this thread involving your mother. What is that like?

PD - I enjoy blending all sorts of imagery. It becomes a puzzle as well as building an optical cascade. My goal is to have elements and photographs work together on a visual level and also create an interesting interlock of ideas and content. For one of the series, I included imagery and references to Hawaii. She loved Hawaii. She never went. She spoke of it as if it was this unattainable far-off exotic land, and for her, it was at the time. I have been fortunate to go to Hawaii and it is indeed one of my favorite places on the planet. Maybe this is my way of taking her on the trip she was never able to take.

MD - Do you have a favorite object?

PD - The beach chair.

PD - You appear to have mastered your collage method. I know you collage onto prints of other artwork you have done but I am curious to know what other methods you use to actually construct the work. Could you share some of your secrets to overcoming some of the technical challenges of creating a collage.

MD - It’s all about camouflaging and knowing what kind of “vibe” I wish for this piece to have. And planning the base. The bases for the large collages are images of artwork, documents, and photographs that I configure into different compositions in Indesign and then print out on oversized archival paper. These enlargements create alluring pockets of texture and color from the actual image blurring and blowing apart.

Technically, collage is frustrating for me because I never imagined in my wildest dreams that glue would be such a major part of my life. Getting to know different adhesives has been a journey in and of itself. I’m better at it now. I have been known to splice a piece of paper when an air bubble is unsightly and then collage over it. Sometimes I try to flatten an air bubble which creates a wrinkle in the paper that becomes part of the piece. I have used magic markers to color in areas of ripped paper from pieces sticking together. I call this collage surgery. I learn from each procedure!

MD - In all the years I’ve known you and your work, I’ve never watched you create. Your process is a mystery to me because you use an inkjet and actual ink. Can you describe your process for me?

PD - So when it comes to my prints, it is quite a process. In a nutshell, I print digital imagery on and within layers of block printing ink. I often mix the block printing ink with gouache or undiluted watercolor concentrate. The application of block printing ink is applied directly to the media with a roller or transferred from some kind of inked “plate”. I allow it to dry. Then I start feeding the substrate through the printer to print the many digital “templates” that I have created. These are from the multiple photos and scans I have accumulated. I repeat and repeat the process all the while changing up the images, masking off areas of the media, and even removing portions of inkjet while it is still damp. Because of the necessary drying time between applications, the work is time-consuming. I have an Epson P800, and considering I am using the machine “not as recommended,” it has served me well.

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