My work is informed by my love of old ephemera, the printed paper, letters and images that have come down to us and the world they create in my mind. I re-see these old bits not as what they were intended to be – items to be read, ads to make one buy something, images of specific people – but as bits of pattern, tone, color, line and shape. Each piece I do is assembled quite literally from those pieces. I select, arrange and collage paper to create both a support and the base pattern. The motif, or motifs, are added in dense chalk and worked to give them a sense of motion. Although I often start with an agenda I always allow each work to build its own image. By using dissimilar materials related only through the decisions made in making each work I create an image that requires a more holistic-style of viewing.
Louise Laplante
