My work, my inspiration
"Catherine Mellinger's orbs are portals, vehicles and objects in the barren work of her creation. They are her medium of experimentation, spanning from the very real ... to the very surreal. Because of their ambiguity, they're able to fit almost every scenario she puts them in ... They feel like memory; barely tangible, offering only one or two pieces of the puzzle. The blank page feels like a landscape ready to be filled with ripe imaginings. Although it is empty, it is an inviting emptiness."
- Ariane Fairlie, Issue 10 Kolaj Magazine
I have been putting glue to paper since I can remember. Having been born in the prairies of Saskatchewan to a Alsacian father, Acadian mother, and now living in Waterloo via Toronto, I am convinced that the puzzle that is my history was the founding of my fascination with bringing disparate images into one cohesive whole. Having studied marketing, and graphic design, I then moved my focus to the study of Expressive Arts Therapies and the commitment to continuing my work as a collage artist. I currently works as an artist, arts facilitator, expressive arts therapist, and mother to an amazing toddler in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
My work blends paper with ink, pencil and watercolour to create images that allow glimpses of life experience as they are imagined rather than lived. By using play as a central focus, I work using a phenomenological approach to allow the works to, in a sense, create themselves. This allows my pieces to emerge in the moment, with more honesty and, hopefully, less censorship. Through collage, I can create reflections on my life from a subconscious place that includes not only my struggles, challenges, joys and hopes, but also the implications of the political and social climate in which I live by using media which reflects our world documented.
Feel free to visit my website anytime!
www.cargocollective.com/catherinemellinger
