Rosemary Fox (Contemporary)

Rosemary Fox states "After learning drawing, painting and sculpture, my focus gradually shifted to modifying and combining decorative elements (one of the first ways I did this was to surround a painting or drawing with as many as four patterned borders that, for me, acted as a kind of "Greek Chorus" for the central image, telling more of its story.)

While experimenting with these elements, I fell in love with styles of the past - from the earliest art created through Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, 18th, 19th and 20th century European and American fine and folk art, the millennia-long legacy of the East and the unique contributions of indigenous cultures - for example, Inuit, Samoan, Ainu and the treasure trove of African tribal motifs.  Pattern has also played a big part in my oeuvre - especially textile and that found in Nature.  As has color...

My design kit includes a huge hands-on library of books and magazine pages gathered over the past thirty years (among my thousands of volumes are sections on textile and wallpaper patterns, natural history, costume, holidays, ethnic arts, children's toys, books and readers, to name a few, all as pictured in a number of historical periods): reference for the creation of designs rendered with simple, time-honored tools on a variety of natural surfaces.  I love the tradition of creating with one's own hands and feel connected to the vast community of artists and artisans on whose shoulders I stand.  I believe that things worked on in this way confer a subtle, almost magical and deeply satisfying experience of the human heart and soul.

To be immersed in the splendors of artistic tradition is a joy. To resurrect and integrate them into our everyday lives is a mission and an honor."