Elizabeth Sheehan

Brooklyn, New York, USA

Vestige

handmade cotton paper, book board, book cloth, waxed linen thread, silk headband thread, cord

11 ¼ x 7 ¼ x ¾

© 2012

$500

I am fascinated by the fact that our memories are not simply true accounts of past events but rather are fabricated from shards of reality, stories, and interpretations. The fusion of these things along with the degrading effects of time often results in the idealized glimmer of a blurred memory, half forgotten. Vestige presents my glorification of the perceived past through the use of highly-pixelated images, text taken from obituaries, my own writings, and kaleidoscopic imagery.

Coruscation

handmade cotton paper, Stonehenge Pearl Grey, Canson Colorline Turquoise Blue, Canson Colorline Sky Blue, book board, book cloth.

5 x 4 x ¼

© 2012

$200

I am fascinated by the fact that our memories are not simply true accounts of past events but rather are fabricated from shards of reality, stories, and interpretations. Coruscation utilizes kaleidoscopic imagery to express the fragmentation of reality that occurs to create these idealizations. The imagery---also reminiscent of light orbs found in photographs---suggests the blinding effect that glorifying the past can have on our perceptions of reality as well.

Mending

handmade cotton paper, book board, book cloth.

5 x 4 x ¼

© 2011

$175

The life and evolution of complex relationships over time fascinates me. The journey from an ethereal past into a cold, distanced reality is especially intriguing as it seems to happen inevitably and without aid. Mending explores the evolution of a particular relationship through a remnant of knitted material which personifies the close, warm ties once shared, followed by the unraveling into the now diminished bond. The knotting expresses my futile attempts to mend our relationship.