PAMELA MCKEE

Materials and process are most important to me in my work. I use handmade paper and natural dyes and want to see evidence of hand work in my art: holes and tears, missed stitches, frayed edges. During the process of stitching, dyeing, making paper, or intaglio etching, I try to work with processes that give me limited control because I like leaving much to chance. I feel my works are connected through threads, both literal and figurative: threads for stitching, threads embedded in paper, threads wrapping silk cocoons and unraveling slightly, and the suggestion of threads, vines, grasses, and twisted roots in my prints. For most of my life I have loved the meditative and calming quality of hand stitching and use it frequently in my work. Organic objects and elements from the earth are my inspiration.