"I began stenciling with mud to put environmentally conscious messages in public spaces. I use mud or earth because it is a fundamental life-giving substance, logical for my messages. Mud stencils are an evolving medium, intended for art and social justice, not corporate advertisement. I am an artist and maker based in Milwaukee Wisconsin I can be reached at jessegraves@gmail.com."
"A what? An assemblage is a three-dimensional artistic composition made of miscellaneous objects or found materials.
The French artist Jean Dubuffet first used the term assemblage to describe a method of turning found objects into three-dimensional structures.
The debate about what is a collage versus an assemblage also began at that time. Dubuffet referred to his butterfly works as assemblages, though art historians seem to prefer the term collage"
"Practical Practical Nurse"
2010, 9" x 9"
mixed media: acrylic paint, bias tape, assorted papers including ads from 1938, clothing snaps, band aid, acrylic on paper, on canvas
"Sand Paper Girl"
2010, 9" x 11" in matted frame
mixed media: acrylic, permanent marker, assorted papers on paper
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There is no escaping the effect of time and all the changes that accompany it. My work has turned so many corners in response to the events and demands of life that I can’t really keep track of them. Years ago I dallied with decorative work that neither threatened or challenged me. Then as I grew dissatisfied with the limitations of the merely decorative, the focus of my work became the issue of personal history. I became obsessed with narrative and the stories that give our lives meaning or define identity.
My own story changed radically when my husband became ill with terminal cancer. In the course of his illness I felt very drawn to move from two-dimensional to three-dimensional work. I worked with materials that were readily available and invented my own techniques.
I have no formal art training, nor a ready source of instruction. Since my husband’s death I have continued this course of invention and have moved from materials as disparate as plaster gauze, joint compound, and papier mache, to wire and polymer clay. I also incorporate road maps, sheet music, sewing patterns and other ephemera in my two dimensional work. More out of laziness than being fashionably “green”, I continue to work with random materials, discarded scraps of anything (including sometimes what I find on the floor) and recycle those materials into the body of my work.
I never know who or what will emerge when I start a piece. I don’t develop preliminary sketches or blue prints. As such, the engineering of a sculptural piece can be a great challenge, with collapse the occasional price of lack of planning. But part of my great pleasure in producing art is to watch the mystery unfold, and witness what develops, the unexpected surprises, and occasional disappointments.
I also work as a Nurse Practitioner. In that role I am eyes and ears, absorbing data, stories, strength and struggle. All that I take in is mediated by love and humor, which is often the only weapon in the losing battles we all must face. That humor feeds me and infuses my artwork where I have the lucky opportunity to celebrate and laugh.
Lynne Parks was born and raised in Northern Virginia, she now resides in Baltimore, MD
BA from Hollins University, independent major in creative writing/theater/film studies
this other approach to assemblages is interesting in its highly organized manner.
