Cathy Feiss

Artist Statement

In my artwork, I am interested in expressing what I can't express easily in words. When I was younger, I was very interested in poetry and I feel that my interest in the visual arts comes from the same source, involving the construction of a kind of visual poem. Much of my work process is intuitive, or possesses intuitive elements within a rational framework. I am most interested in conveying a sense of energy, emotion, or an idea, through a form that may also have a planned and methodical basis.      Most recently, I've developed a series based on the forms and surfaces of icebergs.  Looking at photos of icebergs and glaciers, I was really surprised by the variations in different colors, surfaces and textures of the their forms. For example, striped or jade-green icebergs, plus the many uniquely shaped holes, tunnels, and cracks in their surfaces.  They looked quite sculptural and some brought to mind carved rocks or caves, while others were curvy and smooth, resembling sea creatures rising up out of the water and possessing a kind of poetic quality.  The works together convey a sense of interior versus exterior, support versus covering, and structure versus sensuousness.  Overall, my recent bodies of work are about birth and growth, variation among similar elements, the structure of natural forms, and a sense of communication and mystery in life.