Artist Statement
I’m drawn to the untidiness and mystery underlying physical and psychological experience. This includes the outwardly invisible — biological and neuronal activities, for example — and the visible —tidal pools and other natural habitats. I’m curious how the barely-seen and barely-felt move people, and how enmeshed and fleeting relationships between known and unknown affect feeling and meaning. I’m also partial to the element of surprise, in my printmaking as well as my life.
My approach leans to the fluid and exploratory. I start with abstract images — often photos I’ve taken of nature. I’m partial to raw, organic elements, such as seeds, leaves and pods, as well as fibers, textures and random “stuff.” Monotypes; copper, wood and photo image etchings; collagraphs; silk screens; collages, and encaustics are my printmaking methods. Layering and tinkering multiple times, I often add gold, silver and copper foil, graphite markings, sand, torn pieces of my old prints, or whatever happens to be nearby.
Bio
Orna Feldman came to printmaking as a writer seeking respite from words, her longtime stock in trade as a communication professional for non-profits. Her artistic inspiration comes from things that lie beneath — the mechanisms and mysteries underlying nature, biology and psychology. This fascination may have been ignited as a child exploring tidal pools in San Diego, or seeing electron microscope images her father, an immunologist, proudly shared when she visited his lab. Today, her artistic approach leans to the experimental and organic. Based in Brookline, Massachusetts, she has been creating monotypes, etchings, woodcuts, collagraphs, silk screens, photo image prints, collages and encaustics since 2011. Her work has been selected for multiple juried exhibits, internationally — Artsy and Dab Art, for example — and nationwide, spanning Massachusetts, California, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island. Her roster of printmaking courses includes Massachusetts School of Art and Design, School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Fine Arts Workshop Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. She was awarded a printmaking residency by the Skopelos Foundation for the Arts in Skopelos, Greece in 2017.
Juried Exhibitions
2022
Art Fluent; True Blue; international online exhibit
Marblehead Arts Association; Variations; Marblehead, Massachusetts
Concord Art Association; Members Juried 2; Concord, Massachusetts
2021 – present
Artsy; international online marketplace of fine art
Dab Art Co; gallery and international online contemporary art
2021
Art Fluent: Of the Earth; international online exhibit
Hera Gallery; Dough; South Kingstown, Rhode Island
Rhode Island Watercolor Society; Near and Far; Pawtucket, Rhode Island
Concord Art Association; Members Juried 2; Concord, Massachusetts
2020
School of the Museum of Fine Arts; Boston, Massachusetts
Ashton Gallery; On Midnight; San Diego, California
River Arts Center; 4th Biennial Wings and Water; Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin
2019
Concord Art Association; Members Juried 2; Concord, Massachusetts
Private Collections
Boston, Massachusetts
Ottawa, Canada
San Diego, California
Tel Aviv, Israel
Jerusalem, Israel