My process embodies the word palimpsest (from Greek palimpsēstos scraped again). I layer ideas from the 1600s to present in one work. I collect, scan, and digitally manipulate old engravings and source imagery; everything from illustrations in Edwardian magazines and book frontispieces, to ephemera such as wallpaper from my childhood home and 18th century boardgames. I print the digital images (using photographic silkscreen) onto textiles, paper, and existing paintings. The various prints are destructed then reassembled into works with old and new meaning. The physical nature of the work purposely situates “women’s work” (sewing, handicrafts) squarely within male dominated art historical forms (Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, Impressionism etc.). The unorthodox stitching, raw edges, use of recycled fabric (kimonos, dishcloths), and costume fabric (tulle, organza) is intentional, to conjure feelings about domestic labor and gendered spaces.
A Franzen-Sheehan Studio Session | Sewing Prints | February 19, 2021
Many of the large scale paintings and assemblages span years from start to finish. I work with many talented printmakers at Artist Image Resource on these bigger projects and am ever dependent on my models - beautiful humans who are willing to spend stretches of stillness with me.
