Free Range Art

I enjoy making a variety of aesthetic objects, from wall pieces to jewelry to multi-part installations. I use art to tell stories about threats to nature, to freedom, to culture, or to loved ones. Sometimes I work abstractly just playing with color, pattern, and texture.

I enjoy the challenge of new, divergent methods materials and subject matter. I work intuitively following each new idea to its logical, or not, conclusion. I’m not overly wedded to consistency except in quality and craftmanship. My first love is fine paper, usually handmade in small batches from Japan or Korea. Other materials might include anything from previously made drawings or screen prints cut into small pieces, yarns and threads of all variety, or pages from a Japanese vintage book. Currently on my desk are an Italian porcupine quill, a large cardboard spool, paper made from starfruit, and a straw chain – all waiting to become something.

I love the challenge of changing scales from an inch and a half to six feet. I relish the frisson of learning a new technique where I can be just a bit off balance finding the freshness of becoming a beginner, again. I am an artist/explorer/adventurer/experimenter/inventor/and creator. I listen to my muse and if she says draw, paint, fold, sculpt, sew, wax, extrude, attach, adhere, or rip it up, I do what she says. She’s almost always right.

The art displayed here range in size from 10' tall to 10" across. All involve handmade paper.

Zia Gipson

Zia Gipson