Amanda Lebel is currently the Chair of Visual and Performing Arts at Naugatuck Valley Community College. She has received a number of grants and fellowships, including a moku hanga workshop at Anderson Ranch in Snowmass Colorado, a collaborative print and book project with el Taller de Experimental in Havana, Cuba and a visiting artist printmaking workshop at the University of Hartford. Her work has been included in several print biennials, museum shows and in printmaking exhibits throughout the country.
Statement: Color, pattern and my environment have always been strong influences in my work. The home where I live was left empty before I moved in. As a result the property became overgrown. As I researched what plants were growing in my yard I learned many of them were invasive plants that had crowded out important natives. These invasive plants grew in masses and seemed to multiply very quickly. I researched all of the ways this affects our ecosystem, oil composition can change, animals lose their habitat and food sources, and our ecosystem becomes less diverse.
This research has inspired me to celebrate native plants in my work and to depict how invasive plants are altering our ecosystems. The native plant prints are done in pochoir on black paper. These reference many historical botanical prints. My print collages of the invasive plants overtaking the natives are layered of two separate prints. Each print was created as a repeat pattern like a wallpaper to symbolize the ability of growth. I then cut out the invasive plant like lace and laid it on top of the native plant so it begins to smother the piece below.
Contact: arl125@earthlink.net
