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Lois Epperson-Gale, perichondrial memory IV, kozo paper, pastel, encaustic, birch wood, silk thread, steel frame, 2011
perichondrial memory IV
kozo paper, pastel, encaustic, birch wood, silk thread, steel frame
7.5" x 7.5" x 2"
2011

For this series, perichondrial memory, I used soft pastels to draw on Japanese kozo papers, then coated each layer with encaustic—a wax with resin—adhering the paper to birch wood with heat, manipulating the powdered pigments as they melted and became fluid, so the cellular forms would feel as if they were in a state of transition. Melting multiple layers together created small bubbles—membranes—combining with the skin-like wax to become reminiscent of memory. Fused. Retain. Remain. Stitching the surface with silk thread, the layers became rooted, sutured in place by the completion of a circle, floating inside the weight of steel.