Sally Molenda Artist Statement

Materials and history are topics that have intrigued me for sometime.  Perhaps this may sound like an odd combination at first...

    I have always been interested in a wide variety of materials from latex, fiberglass, and wood, to found materials such as rocks, leaves and seed pods.  Its is particularly exciting to work directly with these materials using the "roll the sleeves up and dig in" approach!  I feel very actively involved in shaping these material into the forms I see in my mind.  This physical involvement with the materials along with the exploration of their individual characteristics and textures is fascinating.
    Another characteristic of materials which I find intriguing is how they change with time.  This deterioration results in the emergence of rich textures (particularly evident in old wood) which speak of the history and the life of the object.  "New" isn't necessarily better as we hear so often...Old objects have a rich history which is evident visually through unique patina.  Events have left marks which are images left behind as the piece ages and changes throughout history.  These images gradually build up overtime, layer by layer, like wax building up on furniture, changing the original color and luster of the piece.  These events or layers merge together, obliterating the idea of separateness and creating a work whose surface holds wonderful visual clues to its soul, the blend creating a patina which acts as a portfolio of experiences...

    Media, age, deterioration, metamorphosis, life, layers, texture -- these are the ideas which influenced  Turning Back the Pages:  A personal Discovery of Family History.  It was an enjoyable challenge to work with the images of various material and objects instead of the objects themselves.  Old family photos, dried roses, tapestry, etc, were set aside and their images layered, merging to forma cohesive visual statement.  Similar to the patina material take on as they age, those layers form a part of may history, my family experience.  I have only begun to decipher and understand the patina and layers which are my family heritage.