601 N. Cayuga Street
Ithaca, NY 14850
607-272-6723
blueheron555@yahoo.com
http://www.ink-shop.org/kahn_2004.htm
I am interested in understanding pattern. By "pattern" I do not mean design or motif or mere
imitation. Patterns, for me, structure experience and reflect both time and space. They are
homing devices that trigger memories of places in my inner emotional and outer, physical
worlds.
Currently I am working with a variety of plates which I call the "grass plate," the "water plate,"
the "rock plate," the "cloud plate," etc. I find patterns in sensations associated with places
where I have lived or worked and overlay them with rhythmic gestures onto floor plans of the
locations. The resulting plates and prints capture the experience and geometry of places that
have been important to me. The underpinning of this particular exploration-i.e., observing a
pattern, cutting a plate, and printing-informs a constant re-conceiving of my inner and outer
worlds.
As a child, I spent my summers close to the ocean (Cape Cod) where the smell of
huckleberry and blueberry bushes mingled with low scrub pine. There I gathered shells and
mollusks; now I gather patterns from such memories of my surroundings and of myself. These
patterns help me find meaning in my past, and enable me to face the future with courage and
curiosity.
