Artist Statement

Debbie Shannon

Marbling is a magical art form.  Colors float on water and can be picked up by a single piece of paper.  Of course, there’s the science of the alum and the oxgall and the effect a drop of egg white mixed into the paint can have.  There’s experimenting with the paper and the pigments and a whole range of variables.  But when it comes right down to it, it’s magic.  I can do the “same” thing over and over and only one sheet will elicit a smile or a gasp of delight.  It’s as if I’m just helping some greater force to make a mystical image appear. 

I’ve loved and collected buttons and beads for a very long time.  For this recent work, I used my marbled papers combined with beads, buttons, glass vials and small treasures (vintage and new).

Some marbled paper was designed specifically for the piece and the story I wanted it to tell.  In other cases, I used previously commissioned work for Larkspur Press special edition book covers.  Thirteen works are dedicated to the respective authors of the books for which I made covers. 

It’s been a journey to think about color and the role it’s played in my life and my artwork.  We’re surrounded by color.  Experimenting with paints on a marbling bath and then finding the perfect buttons and just the right beads to use in a piece is a time-consuming and playful endeavor.  We live in a chaotic and challenging world where serious play can be a way to stay sane.  It is for me.