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 My work reflects the intricacy, beauty, magic and mystery of nature. I am inspired by the landscape of the West, but I don't aim to reproduce it in my artwork. Rather, I am interested in the human intellectual and spiritual responses to our encounters with forests, mountains, streams and the light defining them. I revere the Chinese literati painters for their centuries-old pursuit of these artistic and poetic aims.In 2008, I relocated from northern California to the Pacific Northwest, where I am finding intriguing subjects: fantastic arrays of wind-sculpted sandstone; deep, sun-dappled, fern-carpeted forests; wetlands reminiscent of Rembrandt's Netherlands; and glorious Cascadian peaks and meadows. Beauty is everywhere I look. My techniques emphasize spontaneity, surprise, and the dialogue between image and abstraction. I have recently returned to printmaking after a 30-year hiatus. These years have brought great advances in environmentally-friendly printmaking techniques and materials. I am delighted to have an etching press in my Bellingham studio, with which I am exploring non-toxic printmaking techniques. Among these is solarplate etching, which uses light, rather than acid, to etch the image in the plates. In addition to my printmaking, my signature crinkled paper painting technique creates networks of sumi ink lines connecting and unifying the myriad landscape elements in the paintings. My methods of painting and printmaking generate a spontaneity central to my creative expression. The unplanned effects of the paper crinkling and the reversal of images printed on the press are my partners in creation, providing me with opportunities to improvise and grow as I respond to the spontaneous interactions of the art materials. I find renewal on the hiking path and in my studio. In a world that often seems fractured and threatening, I present viewers of my work with images that evoke the poetry and interconnectedness of the natural world. SHEILA SONDIK'S CRINKLED PAPER TECHNIQUE In cartoon form interpreted by her daughter, Hannah Sarvasy
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