Arlene Morris

In The Studio

Artist Statement

“Sometimes I feel I'm all over the place when it comes to art. One minute I am engrossed in a painting, liking it but then needing to walk away from it. I cannot get back far enough to see it. I'm too close; it's inside of me. I keep pushing myself forward not knowing where I am going; at the same time realizing I'm just along for the ride.

“When I'm really into making a book, it takes over. I'm frantic to complete it. My hands and head are working like crazy; I'm excited. I'm not excited. It's a rollercoaster ride. I love a good idea and then it goes flat, but then it seems to fly and I try to catch it.

“At the moment nothing is more beautiful than handmade paper and an idea when they come together. It started with a written piece; a stream of consciousness line that went on for four typed pages about now and then ... the time in between, growing up, before we have a sense of who we are and where we are going...a child looking forward; a woman looking backward. Out of the writing came a series of handmade paper figures, each painted, pieced, stitched and molded with embroidered words from the story.

“When art carries you away, you follow it as far as it takes you. You work without really knowing where you are going; trusting you shall discover something, hoping to learn. It's always just out of reach, but you get glimpses if you are lucky. Your heart beats faster; you try not to question yourself.

“The hands and mind work as one. Just keep pushing the boundaries. The secret is knowing when to let go. Stop too soon and you lose; stop too late and you lose. Sometimes things just collect in a pile; other times they make the wall. No one really cares but you. It's a great way to live a life.”