Carol BRIGHTON

Born: 1950, in Alaska

Media: Intaglio, Monotype and Paperwork

Carol has spent much of her life in California, graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Fine Art. Since then she has studied Chinese in Taipei, and in Oakland at the California College of the Arts, Kala Art Institute, and Magnolia Editions.  She has taught printmaking, drawing and papermaking at the Academy of Art University, and privately.  Carol has also been the curator for the Addison Street Windows Gallery for the City of Berkeley.
   

The focus of her work has been to master the art of handmade papermaking, as well as to hone skills in calligraphy, brush painting and print making.  She has lived and traveled extensively throughout China and elsewhere in Asia.   The viewer sees in her creations several recurring themes--stupas, Buddhas, Enso circles, the majestic Himalayas and other scenes from nature—recently trees and the moon. She is intrigued with the passage of time, memory and the spiritual and physical journeys we undertake in life. One series is called 'The Three Times'--past, present and future.
   

We find Carol's work a stunning combination of form, color, and texture with subtlety and elegance that bespeaks her own personal quest.

Selected Exhibitions:
   

UC Berkeley Faculty Club
   
Under One Roof, AIDS Research Fundraiser, San Francisco 
   
Spirit in Art, Bade Museum, Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA
   
Irish Miniprint Exhibition, Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin, Ireland
   
Berkeley Art Center
   
Taipei Cultural Center, Taiwan
   
Recent Works on Handmade Paper, Del Mesa Gallery, Carmel
   
Tibet beyond the Land of Snows—two person exhibit, Smithsonian, Washington DC
   
Notes from a Mountain Journey, The Ren Brown Collection, Bodega Bay CA



ARTIST'S STATEMENT

My work is of the imagination, and perceptions of the physical world too - mixed in the creative process with my favorite tools of ink and paper. This process of making art is my vehicle for understanding life.

Ideas for artwork spring from my experiences, from traveling throughout Asia — and memory cultivates imagination. I make prints, and paper, and paintings as witness to my life.

The monotype method of printmaking has painterly characteristics and a quality of being immediate, even if it might take extended periods of time, and many passes through the press. A monotype has unique print sensibility, being a one-of-a-kind and still a print. I feel a kinship with this method and most of my prints are monotypes.

Making paper is simply fun. The basic materials of fibers and water combine to open up a rich field of creative possibilities. I frequently print an engraved line on the matrix of a poured paper pulp composition. Handmade paper takes a printed line beautifully. The flow in paper making and its wet to dry nature mirrors being alive; everything changes, what is once fragile becomes strong and vice versa, what is once raw and coarse becomes clarified and fine. I love the flow.

Carol Brighton 2019