Anticipation and the possibility of fulfillment...
The scope of my work has morphed over a period of some 30 years
from drawing to painting, from collage to assemblage and back again.
I draw inspiration from a variety of sources that seem to find me
more than I seek them out. I came across the paper cuttings of Hans Christian Anderson at a time when major life changes left me feeling bare and dislocated. At some point I began to fold paper and 'draw' with scissors... particularly re-purposing maps or anatomy texts culled from flea markets or estate sales. I often incorporate opaque and transparent watercolor as an extension of the color palette printed on the charts. I find comfort in the creative and obssesive nature of these collages as each reveals a unique process and persona over time. New worlds emerge in oddly emotional interpretations of once familiar places. There's an anticipation as they shift and evolve from factually printed documents to new and potentially uncertain places of possibility. The technique of hand-cutting maps and painting in the gaps emerged for me as a metaphor of holding the world even as its outlines shift radically and unpredictably.
Mark M Garrett, San Francisco
https://www.artistrunwebsite.com/blog/3154/An+Explorative+Eye%3A+Art+by+Mark+M.+Garrett