Playing with Plastic - Jessica Beels

I work with a wide range of media.  Recently I have been trying to reuse materials in an effort to reduce the bulk of my own garbage as well as to give new life to things often overlooked.     

I have also been trying to make more two-dimensional pieces – adding more flexibility to a mostly 3D repertoire that usually requires pedestals for display – thereby expanding where and how I can show my work.   

painted plastic bags

So, for the past three years, I have been playing with fusing cut-up plastic bags into translucent pictures. I sometimes paint the flat bags with metallic acrylic paints, so that the final, layered surface contains transparent elements, colorful swatches, and reflective accents.  

fused layers (detail from Can't See the Forest for the Trees)

One of the first pieces I made with this technique was called "Can't See the Forest for the Trees," which is now part of the collection of the Union of Concerned Scientists and on view in their lobby in downtown DC. 

Can't See the Forest for the Trees

My most recent foray has included small (about 6" x 6") botanical studies. These are the first two of a series I am working on this winter:

Waterlily

 

 

 

 

And a black-eyed susan:

Black-eyed Susan

These images don’t quite feel fully realized, but with a few more layers I think they could be quite intriguing.  I also plan to mount the pieces about 1/2" above the surface of the white board (shown here resting right on top of the surface) in order to add colored shadows (cast by the translucent portions) to the mix of layers.