Elegant Discombobulation

This body of artwork is comprised of unique hand-made one-of-a-kind pulp paintings or cotton papers with printmaking techniques (relief blocks, screen printing, chin colle, & Intaglio), sewing stitchery, acrylic, oil pastel, chalk pastel, etc. applications.

Elegant Discombobulation
By Heidi Domangue 2007
 
Scattered thoughts of Louisiana culture,
Pirogue rides and Cajun experiences,
my vivid imagination for design and color,
the endless multitude of mediums and tools
leaves me in a confused state
walking round and round in circles
focused on process and texture
to dance through subconsciously
to the finish line
to give my people a part of me
of my heart and soul
of our land to forever hold.
 
Years, months, and seconds go by
my head filled with inventive creations,
with new materials, processes, and ideas,
that make my skills blossom,
Nothing is ever the same
Never a free moment
Everything is always original
There’s only a style of the Heidi funk
that dances throughout my art.
Causing problems is the name of my game,
I’m a fixer, a problem solver, I will find a way
with the means of my “art love”, Violet Butterfly
who is my muse forever
who takes my soul and my artist’s hands
on a creative joyride.
 
I started by cutting the leaves of bamboo, banana, sugarcane, and oak
I had a pulp boil on my porch, to implant this Southern love into my work.
Embedded are these organic fibers that were found by the bayou,
along with abaca, flax and cotton mixed with pigments to make vivid colors
which led to distorting paper shrinkage creating even more discombobulation.
I dissected flowers and added whatever I could find
to make these pulp paintings come alive. 
Etched metal plates, carved linoleum blocks, Chine-collé, silk screening, and stamping
were used to create my elegant chaos.
For the final touch,
I used my sewing machine and a variety of mark making tools
to bring out lines and finally come
to the end of this Elegant Discombobulation
to a new life that I will eternally embrace.