marisa diPaola

I am a nomadic sculptor and installation artist.
creating site-specific sculptures from found materials.
Using detritus, the remains of the past, to build the future,
has become central to my work as a celebration of how magical our wonderland already is.
My artwork is a collection of storybook self-portraiture
through an exploration of fairy tale characters come to life in this world.
Intertwining found objects with meditative fiber techniques,
my artwork centers around the moments of creation and adaptation.
The interaction and interconnectedness of the human and natural worlds is my focus
while exploring this creation of ourselves and our connections to the land.
These sculptures are divergent, specific to sites in nature,
chosen for their autobiographical content, and storybook setting of isolation and wilderness.
These sculptures are hand-made from the raw materials gathered around,
based on the notion that the enchanted is simply a rearranging of the ordinary.
The raw materials themselves are site-specific to the sculptures.
And so the gathering process becomes embedded in the artwork,
and the final pieces are the demonstration of a magical transformation.
The documentation appears as wildlife photography,
capturing these characters in their habitat, living within their created life.
All explore the dynamic of self, within fairy tale evolution and our modern mythologies,
documenting the journey of creating a domestic space for oneself,
handmade from the raw materials gathered around.

http://dropr.com/marisadipaola

marisa dipaola: the caterpillar's garden. braided found plastic bags and outdoor lights on reinforced found chicken wire 8 feet high x 5 foot diameter *installed at artsUnion winter sculpture series, somerville arts council, somerville, ma, 2010

marisa dipaola: the twin octopi. braided found fishing line, outdoor lights & sewn found fabric & bias tape on wired found domestic metals each octopi: 4 feet high x 5 feet diameter *installed at harborarts project, boston harbor shipyard, east boston, ma, 2010

marisa dipaolo: the smurfhouse. quilted & sewn found draperies, beach umbrellas, & fabrics, found plastic tubing & tent poles. 4 toadstools of hand-carved found poplar logs; quilted found cushions 9 feet high x 6 feet diameter * the smurfhouse commissioned & installed as a site-specific project during 2009 environmental art biennial, the artists’ enclave at i-park, east haddam, ct 2009