ARTIST STATEMENT
I have always been drawn to the natural world, and my artwork is a personal dialogue with the cycles of life, memory and the passage of time. In my work there is a sense of longing, desire and hopefulness to reconnect with the earth and I create organic pieces that speak to the interconnectedness of all living things. My mixed media paintings incorporate moments captured by my photographs with the richness of paint combined with found materials to create depth in both form and meaning. I draw upon tree imagery often in my work. There is a reason that trees appear in the origin stories universally. Trees are often seen as a bridge between the worlds- world above and the world below. They are often a vital structure of the universe or the source of life as well as wisdom.
Humans have recognized that our lives are vitally connected to trees and we incorporate them into our stories. While I am a suburban dweller and have lived in big cities, I cannot pretend to have an intimate connection to the land. And yet, I know it is true. Is it possible to get back to that truth, when one has been divorced from living in close relation to the earth? My art making serves as a way for me to touch that knowing. The earth is our story, of who we are and where we come from.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Bridgette Guerzon Mills is a multimedia artist whose work incorporates a variety of materials, including photography, paint, encaustic, textiles, as well as reclaimed materials. Her mixed media art often combines photography with encaustic to create a bridge between two worlds – the real and the reconstructed, while her landscapes are an attempt to capture a feeling of wonder, recognition and kinship with the land. Her outdoor installations, often created using foraged or salvaged materials, focus on environmental issues and seek to engage and educate the public about these concerns. She has been published in magazines and books and her work has been collected in the United States and internationally. She currently resides in Towson, MD.
© Bridgette Guerzon Mills