I am a mixed media artist working with paint, printmaking, collage, sculpture and assemblage. I am process driven, letting the materials lead the way, and relishing what I discover. I am currently interested in creating surfaces associated with what one might find looking on the ground in a forest or on a street or up in the sky. They can be associated with the micro or the macro views of the world and have an element of surprise.
I recently moved to Western Massachusetts from the city. Surrounded by trees, I am strongly influenced by nature; the woods, birds and insects, their sounds and the homes they build. Through my work, I explore the relationship between the body and nature, the process of time and personal history and the cycles of growth and decay.
In the mid-70’s I studied art at SUNY New Paltz, which eventually took me to New York City. There I discovered artists, most notably from the Feminist Art Movement, who were stretching the boundaries of what art was. These women took traditional “domestic arts”, such as fiber and craft, and brought it to a new place by making large works and installations. I was also drawn to artists who used their subjective experiences and personal stories as material for their art. I always believed in the power of art to communicate, transform, and heal. Later on, I studied Art Therapy and Clinical Psychology and spent the next 40 years working as a psychotherapist and creative art therapist. Art-making has always been a touchstone for me, a way to process my experiences of the outer and inner world.
One of my favorite artists, the sculptor Phyllida Barlow said this about her interest in the natural process,“There is something about that edge where those two things co-exist: damage and repair. And nature gives evidence to that in extraordinary ways where you see the rotting tree, but you also see the new green shoots springing out of it.”
Website: https://deborahyaffeart.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/deb975/.
