Liberty Blake

Liberty Blake
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

STATEMENT

Collage by definition is an assemblage of different elements, not normally associated with each other. I use primarily found paper, carefully salvaged and collected, some I have had since childhood. The most precious have to be used sparingly, a tiny sliver may appear in a crevice between something I have picked up from the street, or found discarded somewhere. The hunt for papers is part of the art. I have come to realize that I am passionate about rescuing and appreciating worn things; old books, the brown bag my favorite coffee is packaged in, loved clothes, faded and soft, pebbles and rocks, weathered wood, a handwritten note tucked in an old book.

The collages are assembled from cut paper. The shapes are often purposefully awkward and uncomfortable, wedged together as if they are holding each other up, or precariously balanced, layered, worn through. Creating tension and balance is essential, the size and placement of every piece is carefully considered. Color relationships, relative scale, texture, all come into play. My work is abstract, but the story behind each piece is personal and distinct; a place, friend, poem, landscape, object, or collection. These images play in my head as I work. My intention is to create work that evokes an emotional response, that trigger thoughts and memories, and creates a sanctuary for the eye.

BIO

Born in 1968, in London, England, the daughter of two artists, Liberty was immersed in art from an early age. She attended the small arts-centric, Looking Glass School in the West of England, that encouraged self-expression and creativity. These were formative years, the beginning of her love for adventure, the natural world and art-making. Liberty attended Sydney Place for art foundation and studied illustration at Bath Academy of Art. In 1997 she moved to Utah, “for an adventure,” where she co-ran the Sundance Art Shack, teaching paper-making, creating posters and illustration for the Sundance Resort and exhibiting her work. In 2007 she participated in the “337 Project” in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she created the first of many large-scale wall collages, the most recent of which is the “Work in Progress Mural Project”, which recently exhibited at Pallant House, UK. Liberty currently lives and works in Salt Lake City, Utah, making collages inspired by the wild natural places and neglected urban environments that she discovers while adventuring on bikes. Her work is housed in public and private collections throughout the United States and the UK.

ARTIST CONTACT

[click to email]
www.libertyblakecollage.com

IMAGES