Outside the Lines

Claire Kujundzic

Limited, Changing perspective, Unlimited possibilities
mixed media (acrylic, foam core, wire, pencil crayon, handmade paper)

Many years of working with various tools and media left me with hand, wrist and shoulder injuries. Despite a variety of splints, medications and physical therapies, the condition has worsened, most recently because of my refusal to give up using wax crayons, a method that requires a great deal of hard, repetitive pressure. Ironically, though my work was largely of free, flying women, I was feeling “frozen”.

When I moved from Vancouver to Wells in 1995 with my partner Bill to start a gallery, I got even more scared of changing media. Wax resist was unique, sold well and I had refined the technique in ways I loved. And though I’d painted murals and a few small canvases, I’d never learned any painting techniques. What if I fell flat on my face?

I’d been stuck for three years when kickstART! got me going. The restriction of 15”X15” square gave me something to fight against. I “stretched” the box, keeping the perimeter dimensions of 60”, and tried using unfamiliar materials like foam core, photocopies, wire, acrylic transfer and handmade paper. It’s unpolished, but I’m painting, I’m cutting, I’m playing with wire and paper, and maybe, just maybe, I’m free!

Anna Lam