Dawn Southworth
Working with a multitude of materials affords me room to experiment with techniques and processes. I draw, paint, sew, collage, hammer, burn, and wrap. My work begins with the act of collecting. My studio houses well-loved fabrics, burnt ironing-board covers, found and rusted metals, vintage handwritten journals, photographs, and reclaimed canvases. When fused together they evoke a sense of testimony and nostalgia that I try to retain as I construct my own personal narrative. My intent is to pair my personal stories and memories with tales naturally embedded in the artifacts. It is with these worn objects that I simultaneously create and destroy, adorn and strip down. There is a world of whimsy in hand-drawn shapes that I am constantly exploring. I am entranced by simple figures, such as vessels, cakes, and chairs, and also by simpler abstract and organic forms. I often repeat, replicate, and reinvent a shape or symbol throughout a piece; it becomes the motif. The motif becomes a visual mantra, which mirrors the cyclical nature of my process.