Artist's StatementIn Brief...My illustrations, books, wearables, and plush figures are art objects and texts as playthings. They champion tactile and visual literacy, and explore material and psychic doubling by means of nested, duplicated, and intertwined human forms.Soft Sculpture: History & TraditionsFor me, soft sculpture is a cobbling of materials as it is a patchwork of traditions. The found materials I use are saturated with tactile histories, some known to me and some secret. The worn out socks I took from my little sister to make a sculpture, for instance, can't forget their previous life swaddling her toes any more than I can forget them in that role.Furthermore, the needlework techniques I employ, including embroidery, applique, crochet, and felting have thrived for centuries in an abundant history of permutations. From the 11th Century embroidered Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England, to the contemporary fabric books of self-deemed 'detritivore' Lois Morrison, it is quite difficult to find a culture that does not celebrate stitchery as both an expressive and decorative craft. Puppets & DollsThe puppet and doll motif is undeniably prominent in my thesis work, inviting playful interaction at the same time that it evokes nested or doubled identities. A doll naturally absorbs and reflects the dreams, desires, fears, and fancies of its human playmate, just as the human playmate is influenced by the surface and form of the doll as a representation of the human body. The same might be said about a book as a representation of the human imagination. As was the case when Pygmalion fell in love with his statue, which was promptly thereafter given life by the gods, the barriers between reality & appearance, or life & art can become unnervingly elastic - especially in the vulnerability of serious imaginative or artistic play, when the internal world of a human subject recreates itself in appearances.–Lucy Brennan Lucy is available for commissions and custom work, including illustration, costume design, and children's toys & dolls. If you have a project in mind, please get in touch! ResumeEducation
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