Laura Pritchard

I work in the batik technique: resist painting with wax and dyes on silk. The content of my works involve portraits with special attention to decorative motifs. I collect motifs from many eras, places, and cultures to use as inspiration. I have always been fascinated with decoration, its symbolic origins and the lack of meaningful embellishment in our culture today. The title of the piece relates to the tradition of illuminated manuscript where meaning is found in the decorative borders as well as the text.

My works are about constructing enigmatic, fantastic faces to invite, compel, the viewer into a world rich with color and detail. They are about elevating the decorative qualities of the background and borders as well as the elements of the face itself. The images and compositions I create come from the spiritually symbolic origins of motifs from many cultures and eras: folk art, textile patterns, manuscript decoration, Indonesian batik, Indian miniatures, architectural decoration, children’s art, prehistoric images, and more. The

Artists
Page

Next

aesthetics of a decorative surface, while its symbolic meaning may be obscured or abstracted, is still subliminally effective. My batik work presented as paintings and sculptural pieces has received wide recognition and awards.