Mary Dickey Artist Statement
Some years ago I collected two of these Mexican feather bird pieces. Made for the tourist trade starting in the 40’s, the featherwork can be wonderful while the background painting is banal and uninteresting. Fast forward to March this year and I decided to repaint the backgrounds after being inspired during a trip to Mexico by Huichol Indian imagery, yarn paintings and beadwork.
These most recent pieces have taken their inspiration from floral traditions in many cultures, Peruvian, Mexican, Indian to William Morris.
In the past I have called these sorts of gouache paintings, “Paintings from the Collection” as they are inspired by my travels and folk art collecting. These are literally “Paintings ON the Collection”
