artists i like: josie lewis

in an effort to bring stability to your lives (or, at least in your expectations of me and my blog), and in an effort to get me to look at more art--arty art, fine art, whatever you want to call it--i bring you the first installment of my appropriately named series, artist i like. here you go.
i really like josie's painting/collages (created out of scraps of found paper and resin layered together) for many reasons. they are colorful and mesmerizing, and they push the boundaries between 2- and 3-dimensional work. i really like boundaries and boundary-pushers. they fascinate me. where is the line between joking and seriousness? good and evil? early and late? faith and foolishness?
ah, i digress. because in her work, ms. lewis (should i write about people like the ny times does? that could be fun) does not discuss boundaries directly, although she does talk about how they are painting, collage, possibly sculpture, and related to photography (since the bits of paper are taken from photographs in magazines.
she also talks about how animals digest their food--comparing to her own consumption of the materials she uses and the resulting pieces that are created.

these images have been in my mind for weeks--months, even. i can't get over their simultaneous flatness and depth, as well as their intense color. the process appeals to me as well--breaking down images into colors, textures, and shapes, then assembling them into a larger whole. it has got to be time consuming, but there is something about it that is really appealing to me. i really have a thing for process. it's one of those things that draws me in and makes me think, "man, i wish i had thought of that." her website is full of images, i encourage you to check it out. oh! and she's from minneapolis. so, you know. we have that going for us. okay, i'll stop drooling now and let you enjoy them.

(all images found on the artist's website.)