Cheryl Lommatsch

I am a mixed media artist, very mixed. The process is as important to me as the final product. Gathering materials sets this process in motion. I salvage objects from vacant structures, parking lots, beaches and wood piles. These treasures of discarded chicken wire, hardware, sea shells, empty bullet casings and weathered wood are then scattered before me.

My recent creatures are the result of hours spent investing and playing as an artist, an alchemist and a mad “tinkerer”. Eventually, the fragmented piles begin to take shape. These pieces are dipped into paper pulp, treated with beeswax and other various embellishments. For me, the real magic takes place at the moment when the materials I am sculpting and weaving morph into an indefinable life form.

Each creature takes on its own energy, character and personality. It resonates in its own quiet dignity. A soul seems to appear where there shouldn’t be one. And, I get to feel a bit like God, Geppetto and Dr. Frankenstein all rolled into one.

Many of my bird-like creatures have become victims of “entrapment” within metal and wooden sculptural forms. A predicament of “boundaries” and challenges is presented in these pieces. I am asking those who view my work to contemplate what is happening to our planet, to our environment, to our creatures… to us. My concerns lie in the struggle between Man and Nature. And, due to man’s carelessness and greed – freedom and prison have become ambiguous terms.