Andrea Tishman has been an artist in the Boston area for over 25 years and presently works in her studio in Waltham. She received her BFA from Cornell University and studied at l’Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. Her work has been exhibited in galleries in Massachusetts, New York, and Paris.
WOODSCAPES
I’m fascinated by the plays of light penetrating stands of trees, especially the planted, gridded groves of fir trees found throughout New England. The uniformity and symmetry of their trunks creates rhythmic patterns of light. In my Woodscapes series, I try to capture the impressions these displays of light and shadow evoke – inviting, tranquil, foreboding, often familiar, creating the feeling of having experienced this particular place and time before.
Many of these orderly groves that I find and depict were planted as part of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), a public work relief program created during the Great Depression.
TEABAG PRINTS
TMy Teabag Series reflects my personal observations and concern about declining bird and insect populations. By choosing to depict these birds and insects on repurposed teabags I try to convey the ephemeral yet resilient nature of these animals who are at risk of extinction due to loss of habitat, pesticides, and climate change. I’ve long admired the diaphanous teabag. I love the way they seem fragile yet are surprisingly sturdy. After they are steeped and dried, I unfold and empty them, and then I iron them flat. The pieces of paper resemble parchments, small stories of collections of moments.
After I flatten them, I sometimes paint the mottled surface with gouache, then I hand print them using the lino blocks I carve, and finally mount them in groups on wooden panels.”