Monoprints with lichens. Homemade natural pigment and 100% cotton, acid-free, 245g, Arhem 1618 paper, 12 x12 inches.

It is a series of monoprints with lichens. We have been working with lichens since Sitka Center residency, continuing this practice at Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) and Assets for Artists, MASS MoCA, creating figurative designs, for instance, Humans. These unique, long-living organisms, a stable symbiotic association between fungi, algae, and cyanobacteria, usually live in soil, bark, wood, and stones, and they are able to prosper in arid and hostile environments, including the Arctic or Chihuahuan Desert regions. During dry seasons, they can hibernate for up to a year, but a small amount of moisture can awaken them and lead their lives on once more. They live an average of one hundred years, meaning they have a longer average lifespan than we do.
As our paint is self-produced, meaning that we collect and process the soil around our studio, the only fine art material used in this series is paper.