HUNG UP ON SUNSHINE | Cyanotypes prints on various papers encased in encaustic, oil, metallic leaf and repurposed objects by Sandra Koberlein. Window measures 16 inches high by 28.5 inches wide. Cyanotypes & objects hang up to 32" from top of frame to bottom of object.
SUMMER'S CALLING | Cyanotype print on Japanese Rice paper mounted on birch panel with metallic leaf and oil by Sandra Koberlein. 22 inches high by 10 inches wide.
ARTIST STATEMENT
The Magic of Flora & Fauna: Combining Sunlight, Plantlife, Fire, and Beeswax
As our lives changed, during the COVID-19 lockdown, I took a closer look at the beauty surrounding my home and studio along the Delaware River in Supawna Meadow, Pennsville, NJ. This became the seed for The Magic of Flora & Fauna paintings.
Capturing the beauty of nature in a different light transformed the feelings of despair and uncertainty into a magical rejuvenation of the calm and joy of my surroundings in The Meadow.
During this time, I took to learning the almost two-hundred year old cameraless photographic printing process - cyanotype - once used for copying architectural drawings - and giving it my own unique twist by combining it with my passion of painting with encaustic - to burn in - an ancient practice by Greek artists as far back as the 5th century B.C.
Local plant matter was collected, pressed and arranged onto treated surfaces using iron salts that later photographically reacted in sunlight. No darkroom was needed. Once dried, cropped and mounted, molten beeswax medium was applied and surfaces were magically altered creating dimensional images with deeply rich colored surfaces varying from translucent to mystifying opacity.
The results are unique, contemporary, encaustic embedded, one of a kind botanical prints, which explore the magic discovery of local South Jersey flora and fauna.