Lisa Kaplan
OF FIRE and Earth - 3D and 2D
About the Artist
I am deeply concerned with environmental and socio-political issues, specifically those pertaining to responsible decision making with regards to natural resources and sustainability of our planet for generations to come. My goal is to raise awareness, elicit a visceral response, and evoke an experience through my work in hopes of triggering a shift or change in viewers' perspectives, attitudes and actions. If they interact with the work, think about it, feel it, or remember it, I have fulfilled my objective!
Content has always informed the medium I choose to work in. Most recently, I have been working with cob - straw and earth-clay, sometimes known as adobe. Earth clay is harvested from various elevations and locations near my home, in Northern California, rich in minerals, composted life and color variations. Our mountains are now filled with charcoal blacks amidst rich red each since the Valley Fire of 2016.
Earth - a primordial medium, has been used by peoples and cultures past and present around the globe to make things of both beauty and utility. Working with mud connects one to an unadulterated child-like state of exploration, adventure, and fearlessness. The material immediately taps into our collective consciousness, to our relationships and interconnectedness to one another and to the diverse and marvelous shared natural world around us.
In working with cob, straw encased in mud can be pulled and modeled into structure, and energetic line. For me, this is like drawing in 3-dimensions with texture and mass! Other materials include reclaimed manzanita prunings (a native Northern California tree), plaster, gauze, canvas, burlap, & twine, repurposed used clothing, metal, and eco-friendly varnishes and mediums, both water and oil based.
I am deeply concerned with environmental and socio-political issues, specifically those pertaining to responsible decision making with regards to natural resources and sustainability of our planet for generations to come. My goal is to raise awareness, elicit a visceral response, and evoke an experience through my work in hopes of triggering a shift or change in viewers' perspectives, attitudes and actions. If they interact with the work, think about it, feel it, or remember it, I have fulfilled my objective!
Content has always informed the medium I choose to work in. Most recently, I have been working with cob - straw and earth-clay, sometimes known as adobe. Earth clay is harvested from various elevations and locations near my home, in Northern California, rich in minerals, composted life and color variations. Our mountains are now filled with charcoal blacks amidst rich red each since the Valley Fire of 2016.
Earth - a primordial medium, has been used by peoples and cultures past and present around the globe to make things of both beauty and utility. Working with mud connects one to an unadulterated child-like state of exploration, adventure, and fearlessness. The material immediately taps into our collective consciousness, to our relationships and interconnectedness to one another and to the diverse and marvelous shared natural world around us.
In working with cob, straw encased in mud can be pulled and modeled into structure, and energetic line. For me, this is like drawing in 3-dimensions with texture and mass! Other materials include reclaimed manzanita prunings (a native Northern California tree), plaster, gauze, canvas, burlap, & twine, repurposed used clothing, metal, and eco-friendly varnishes and mediums, both water and oil based.