Size: 18"x14"x1.5"
Medium: Mixed Media Collage
Artist: Tamara Jaeger
Inspired by: "Untitled" Jaunyla from Warner Girls Leadership Academy
Suggested Value: $835.00

"I liked the imagery of the poem, with all the different colors and animals. It gave me a lot of good material to choose from that would work well with my typical subject matter (animals) and style."

The process of creating art helps me to restore balance and to regain my center.

As a child of two biology major parents, I spent a great deal of time outdoors at parks and nature centers, while at home I was surrounded by a huge assortment of pets. Because of this, I have always found nature in general and animals in particular to be restorative and inspirational and this is reflected in most of my pieces.

My current work concentrates primarily on torn paper collages, linocut printmaking, oil painting, and 3D mixed media pieces. My primary working style, which has been a mainstay throughout my career, focuses on combining numerous small fragments into a larger whole.

This style currently appears most prominently in my torn paper collage pieces. I create these by gluing tiny fragments of catalogs and magazines to a paper substrate. My torn paper collages have recently started to evolve to incorporate different types of materials, typically sourced from discarded items-trash, really-that I find around my neighborhood. In the process, these works are also transitioning into more three-dimensional, almost sculptural pieces.

The 'collage' medium appeals to me not only because of the intricate, detailed working process, but also in a conceptual way: useless items-the catalogs, plastic bags, and other pieces of 'trash'-obtain a greater meaning and become something more than they were before. Through this process, the ephemeral becomes permanent; the worthless becomes valuable. In a way, this transformation can be seen as mirroring a person's personal journey through life: each small experience builds on previous experiences, eventually resulting in the depth and richness of a fully-formed individual.