DEBORAH BELL

Art-making for me is a ritual act, a state of being awake to the present, an awareness of being here. It is the journey I am always present for.  
 
I am part of a modern art tradition that makes visible what may be hidden but desires to be revealed. I communicate my ideas with color and shapes; my tools are paints of all kinds, drawing materials, found papers and occasional words. My pieces are constructed on panels or paper, layering paint and found materials to create a base upon which marks weave amongst washes and collaged elements. I continually gather, repurpose and arrange, enjoy weaving together seemingly different or awkward companions. Humor is important to me, as is celebration.
 
My work is not about nature so much as it is of nature. Being fundamentally attuned to where I live, my work is a direct response to seasonal shifts and my environment. I am moved by ever-changing skies, environmental patterns and cycles, the earth’s surface - both what is seen and what is felt. I “draw up” from an inner terrain. I pay attention, receive nourishment and inspiration from this place I get to live. My connection to this world is a foundation from which I make things. My inside world and my outside world reflect one another.  
 
A drawn line can be an extension of breath: the inner world continuous with the outer world, connected through the hand, the pen held, the line drawn…ultimately moving out into the world. Marks made with pencil, pen or paint function as records of moments, creating musical rhythms. Fields of marks become galaxies and/or oceans filled with microscopic life forms. The circular form is essential in my work. I’m interested in everything a circle might be. Drawing a circle around something can be a way to love, honor, and protect.
 
My journey has been in art-making; one that I’ve chosen - or has chosen me - since I was a young girl. Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, I was surrounded by arts from Asia, the Americas, and Scandinavia. These are all primary influences.

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