The Increments Suite

The five images in this suite are based upon the incremental growth and change of living things, and the complex patterns that result from the response of matter to physical and chemical forces. The two linear pieces, Fossil and Limpet, explore complex linear systems laid over subtly shifting grounds. These forms embody the growth patterns of ancient sea creatures, some of the earliest forms of life. I am interested in the vast temporal shifts represented in such images: the life span of the invertebrate recorded by the patterns of the fossil, the millions of years separating its existence from my own, and the relatively infinitesimal time – but great to me – that it takes to draw the image by hand. The Poza (Pool) image is a translation into the intaglio process of an idea that began in watercolor: the layering of transparent washes to create a dense, dark center. Hoja (Leaf) relies on random patterns caused by the spit bite process which echo the natural patterns of the vein structure of a leaf. In Stone Pools, tonal and linear processes are combined to map forms and phenomena on the edges of visiblity.

Liz Ward, February 2001
Published by Flatbed Press, Austin
Edition of 40