Katheryn Byram
Mixed Media- Altered Books and Other Objects

“Reinventing the Familiar”
“Everyday Objects, Revisited”

It was my good fortune to be raised in a family whose interest in all things, both cultural and artistic, was a given. The smell of damp clay still evokes memories of classes taken, beginning at age 5, in the basement of the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I think I assumed that everyone had a playhouse with those marble steps leading up to the Greek and Roman statuaries and the mysteriously exotic Asian collection. This richness of art and music was further enhanced by my architect father’s collection of art books that filled the shelves in our house. From an early age we were all encouraged to make our own gifts and cards. So, as I began gleaning words and phrases from old magazines for those crea tions, my destiny could have been either as a ransom note-writer-for- hire, or a maker of collage.
My nine years as co-owner of the Wild Rose Gallery awakened memories of those days of youth when we feel such pride in “making it ourselves”. Now I feel I have given myself permission to again play freely. When I paint I can’t keep my hands out of it, reminding me how much I loved finger painting. “Collage” means giving myself permission to pursue my passionate treasure (some would say “junk”) collecting and then assembling those disparate parts into something unexpected. I am not sure it is art but it does seem to “speak” to people, and isn’t that what we all want, to be heard?
Currently I am using this “language” to express my thoughts and questions about our world. Politics, body image, Greek mythology and intimacy are among the topics I have explored in my art. Less controversial are the several pieces on the subject of birds and fish, beautiful creatures who naturally provide colorful imagery.