Ellen Kochansky
This is a commission for Cynthia Boyer’s window, looking out over the Potomac from Alexandria, VA. I included several fragments from her studio, including some actual “chads” from the 2000 election. Silk, bookbinders glue, found objects 36″ x 72″2005
A commission using photographic images of leaves, rocks, and botanical elements, combined with the actual materials, made denser by the dark stained silk. Somehow the natural and artificial seem at home with each other here.Tea-stained silk, bookbinders glue, stitching, printed photographs, plants, feathers 36″ x 41″2005
Homage to a profoundly influential book on the social implications of architecture. The background is made of patterns I acquired during research for my first job, as an assistant editor for the Vogue Sewing Book. This is where I applied and honed my skills at writing, re-writing, and page layout, and where I made my […]
Scraps of old projects seem to form the most fertile compost for my recent work. Many inspiring leftovers from the past 20 years are captured here, part of the handwritten saga. The many layers of glued silk approximate parchment, but no goats died, only silkworms. Silk organza (12 layers), bookbinders glue, found materials, linen thread […]
My father collected my mother’s letters, written every day during WWII, including the ones the army shrunk for lighter weight shipping to France. After he died, she shredded them in a fit of emotional housekeeping, a profound lesson to me in letting go. Their mysteries are honored here.Silk organza, brown wrapping paper, beeswax, chile peppers, […]
Another Signature , in honor of my father’s life in publishing, and my own fascination with the design and formation of pages. The things we inherit through our DNA often conflict with the things our culture tells us. It is our constant battle to reconcile the two stories, and to shape an individual conscience in […]
My favorite flower is a startlingly dramatic tomato-red relative of the Amaryllis, whose chief virtue among many is that it springs up in drifts in the heat of August when nothing else is blooming. Separated from a compound flower, its blossoms press nicely, and the color spreads. The 9 page Signature is one of the […]