Sandy Milroy
Art, for me, has always been a "primary language." Many of its elements – color, pattern, texture, composition, the materials themselves, seem to have deep and almost unconscious connections. After college, where I had an art history major, I began as an artist/craftsman in the field of weaving. For twenty five years I wove tapestries, pillows, fine scale pins, and shawls. The rich tactile experience of learning to warp a loom, dye and spin various fibers into yarn, work a multitude of yarns and fine threads into finished pieces, and the study of old textiles – all have a continuing influence on my painting and collage work.
In my present work the elements have become handmade papers which I have reworked into richer, more layered surfaces using methods of stamping, printing, tearing, marbling and recombining. I also use a variety of acrylic paints and mediums to provide different colorings, textures and finishes.
Another strong influence has been "vernacular architecture"; buildings created in many cultures from local materials and fitted harmoniously into the landscape. For several years I was involved in the restoration of a 17th Century thatched cottage in England and the intuitive "rightness" of its structure and proportion left a deep impression. In my compositions I’m concerned with establishing similar "structures", ones based on finding strong asymmetrical balance, with an implied sense of time in the build up of layers.
