Portraits: Studies in Paper – Zina Castanuela

Portraits: Studies in Paper – Zina Castañuela

Exhibition of studies in paper by artist Zina Castanuela. Zina has been a graphic designer for over 25 years in Denver, San Francisco, Chicago and Michigan. She uses her experience in environmental and print design as the basis for her artwork in which she creates artists books, pulp paintings and sculptures using handmade paper, silkscreen, printmaking, and letterpress. She has shown her work nationally and internationally and currently resides in northern Michigan.

Show Dates: October 5 – 31
Artist Reception: October 5, 2:00-5:00pm

Artist Statement

Process is what excites me in papermaking. It tells a story as easily as the memory of a loved one pops into your mind after seeing a certain color or pattern, getting a whiff of a what’s cooking in the kitchen or hearing a song. Like life, papermaking is full of successes and failures that come from choices made that can change the direction of planned outcomes.

In this show I have used handmade paper to create portraits of everyday items that came from a loved one’s life. These items have remained behind but carry memories of a life: a tie, a pair of wingtips, an old air force uniform, photos of a garden long since gone. Each image separately becomes a fleeting memory. Together these images tell the story of a life, a person, a personality—portraits of their essence.

Samples of Zina’s Cotton Pulp Paintings