August 2015: Margaret van Patten & Amy Ruedinger

Amy Ruedinger works with metals. Hammering copper on steel with steel, she changes the hard flat material into an inviting, touchable three-dimensional form. "I try to pull out the personality of the piece as it slowly develops. Top/bottom, visible/invisible, inner/outer are dualisms that appear in my work. Some of my pieces are made from my old copper etching plates. The image mostly gets hammered away but it adds an invisible history, surface texture, and former idea within the piece." Ruedinger is a multi-media artist working in metals, printmaking, bookmaking and drawing. This background can be seen in the copper vessels she will be showing.

Margaret van Patten is a printmaker who combines various intaglio techniques to create uniquely personal prints. Her technique includes drypoint, etching, and aquatint and mezzotint. For this show she introduces pencil drawing into her artwork. Making prints is very much a process oriented art form for her, and she uses this to her advantage by working directly on the surface of the plate and letting each mark respond to the previous mark. She then applies addition lines and colors to the pulled print. She uses a wealth of diverse symbolism and metaphors. This results in multiple layers of meaning and richness.