The Flood

 

My ‘bluing’ of my art correlates to the history of blue paper in European culture. European paper was originally made from collected (often from the streets) linen and cotton cloth. This cloth was sorted into grades, the whitest being the highest grade. Starting in the 1400s, blue dye (first woad, then indigo) was added to the paper pulp to counteract the yellowed, dirty color of the lower grade rags. This bluing was seen as improving the paper and raised its cost. Sugar and sweet treats were often wrapped in blue tissue, the cheapest to make but seen as special due to the bluing. Bluing was also a more recent practice of adding a slight amount of blue dye to white laundry to brighten or ‘improve’ the whites. My focus on blue does feel like an effort to improve the message. My 2025 artwork The Flood is my reaction to climate disaster. The prints surround the viewer, enticing them into its blue depths while overwhelming them and filling the space. The blues in this piece make it palatable, calming as they drown.