 Caroline with her husband Trotter Hardy, at exhibition opening in Gallery21, Norfolk, Virginia, USA |
Koi Kimono - from The Abecedary Project
artwork with collaged paper
by Caroline Garrett Hardy, 74
| I’m an artist and paper is my medium. I create kimonos which are life-sized wall-hangings and also “paper paintings” made with collaged paper. The paintings are quite realistic; the kimonos are more like stories made of fragments of text and imagery. I’m influenced by Japanese art of the 16th-early 20th centuries. My art is also informed by history, literature, myth, and songs. Wherever I go I make rubbings of utility covers, plaques, and monuments which I use in my art. Currently I’m working on an alphabet project where I’m making one kimono to go with each letter of the alphabet. I love to travel with my husband, whom I married when I was 65 years old. |
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| Koi Kimono: Theme—Vigor. Koi fish (a subspecies of the common carp, specially bred to be shown off in captivity) are much admired by the Japanese for vigor and strength. They present, of course, a dazzling and radiant range of colors, from reds to oranges to pearly whites, but they must be carefully bred to sustain their beauty. If freed into the wild, koi will, after only a few generations, relapse back to ordinary carp, with an uninspiring solid gray color. |
Caroline Garrett Hardy lives in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA.
email Caroline at prof.csgarrett @ gmail.com (remove the spaces)
Exhibition Rooms |