AmyZell

Artist Statement

"Thyme"

My body of work, which is a mixture of traditional painting, sewing and collage, started from my desire to create portraits that could show the character, interest and past of individuals. Most of these portraits were originally of my family. I reflected on how each person was interconnected in their habits, hobbies and talents. I could see differences in each individual's choices throughout their lives and how each generation has similar opportunities and experiences at an age.

A metal cup, a cookbook, or the way our home is decorated can mark a time in our lives. When my Mom was in grade school, her grandmother lined her apple green cupboards with paper. She would trim the edge of the paper in a scallop pattern that would show when the cabinets were closed. Within my work, I assign different colors and patterns found in household items, decorating books, and from memories, such as my Mom's, to different decades, from 1930 through 2010. I enjoy baking the chocolate cakes, frosting the sugar cookies and filling the containers for each still life. To personalize each baking scene, I've painted a cup or glass.

Aside from the influences of past and contemporary genre, still life or mixed media artists, I am inspired by animated end credits of movies. They become a type of scrapbook of that particular movie’s events and characters. Relationships grow within the kitchen, while people study, eat, bake, argue, or drink cups of coffee or coke. If a moment in the kitchen was remembered, what objects, papers, cards and photos would be saved?