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Lisa R. Benson
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Lisa R. Benson's Page
Latest Activity
Apply Now: Valley Writers School Fall Session at Writers' Mill
August 5, 2009 at 6pm to September 14, 2009 at 7pm
The Valley Writers School offers fiction, memoir, and poetry workshops for writers seeking to generate new work, refine works-in-progress, read and discuss great literature, and join a supportive writing community. We are now accepting applications…
Profile Information
- Are you an artist, arts organization or venue?
- artist
- What town do you live in?
- Northampton
- In which disciplines do you work or exhibit?
- Drawing, Painting, Printmaking, Photography, Clay, Sculpture, Words
- Artist Statement/Bio
- I first felt a pull to use observed spaces as a way to reflect my thoughts when in Italy. Stunned by many views, some breathtaking, some ordinary, I set about exploring these experiences artistically. My first cohesive artistic exploration was a series of collograph prints depicting spaces inspired by my travels to hillside and seaside towns in Italy. In these prints, I used space, composition, and perspective as a metaphor for emotions, thoughts, and personal journeys. I wanted to communicate the feeling of contemplation I got from viewing the extreme landscapes and cityscapes I had experienced.
I’ve recently spent two years in Japan. Living in the countryside of Japan gave me inspiration and insight from experiencing a new place. I found many visual moments of inspiration in my everyday life and often had to pull over when driving to sketch what I saw. An introduction to echizen washi, a local handmade paper, spurred on a series of watercolor explorations of the spaces and nature of Japan—old houses, misty mountains, vast lakes, flowers, boats, and seas dotted with islands. In my previous study of Japanese prints and Chinese scroll paintings, I’d noticed that many of the compositions were arranged in a vertical or horizontal panoramic fashion to represent vast open space. I had used this concept in my prints, and carried it over to many of my paintings.
In Japan and now in Massachusetts, people and how they relate to the spaces in trains, airports, and city streets also inspire me. I sketch people constantly and filled many notebooks with these quick sketches. I have recently started to bring these sketches into more developed work. My past experiences with sculpture, including growing up in the observing the sculpting done in my father’s sculpture studio, fueled my interest in putting my figures into three dimensions. I am observing the world and using what I see as an expression of my own thoughts. I want to continue to explore the figure, spaces, and nature in relation to space, composition, and perspective, and wish to use my findings as a canvas for my thoughts, emotions, and journeys.
-Lisa R. Benson
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