Allison Svoboda

Disassembling
Sumi-e ink on silk

The flow of water, erosion from wind, the worn limbs of a dead tree inspire my work. This enormous energy in nature which breaks down and builds up pattern and sensuous lines has a never ending fascination for me. Creating the ink for painting requires several minutes of grinding the ink block on a stone. This meditative pause brings a balance to both my work and life. I do several ink paintings on rice paper until I find something that intrigues me, I then work into the larger silk paintings.

The patterns that emerge from the work often have multiple inferences. The flow of a tree reaching to the sun has the same movement as a river reaching toward the ocean. Water droplets bind together and become fluid just as arctic ice builds up and melts apart. The dichotomy in our natural world of destruction and growth, light and dark, fear and wonder is very important to my work.

© Allison Svoboda