LOUISE KODIS
I have been cutting and pasting paper since she was six. My daughter, Chemyn Kodis has been painting
delightful narratives since she was six. We both have had plenty of time since to hone those skills. Now
we have combined their mediums in twenty 12” x 12” collaborative works on canvas.
Collaborations, Secret Obsessions and Twenty Pairs of Scissors
The paper collection began fifty years ago. Carefully sorted groups of snippets from new and vintage magazines, tattered pages from antique books, handmade and hand printed papers from India, China, Japan, paper towels with wonderful blotches from dyed Easter eggs, astounding labels from bottles and boxes, recipe pamphlets from the 1910’s and 1920’s, crinkled foils…. Even before the stack of storage boxes was five feet high, I began pasting up collages.
Collaborating with other artists has long been a source of satisfaction. I’ve joined fabric with clay, photographs, glass and paintings. My daughter Chemyn worked in my studio for over a decade helping construct my two and three-dimensional installations for public, private and corporate sites.
Finally, Chemyn and I have joined equally our skills in these painted and collaged works on canvas. What a measure of trust, challenge and satisfaction!
And the scissors? A couple of sizes are at the ready in every room-including the attic, my pocket, my car, my handbag.
Louise Kodis
May 2018
“Let’s do some collaborative work” Mom suggested one morning as we walked our dogs. “You could paint and I can collage.”
So it began. What to choose as subject matter? What size would they be? How would we frame them?
My first thought was birds. I love to paint birds. Starting with Snow White and her helper birds to the clever Robin with the key in The Secret Garden, I have always loved to watch the birds and imagine they were my friends.
Well that was it wasn’t it? Paint those things that bring me joy of course! I walked through my house and collected some of my dearest possessions to create still lifes.
My favorite Kate Spade shoe, the Raggedy Anne doll my Grandma made for me, Grandpa’s pocket watch and coin collection, my old fire engine toy, my first doll LaLa, a sample from my vast elephant collection, they all became inspiration.
What a fun journey this has been. The pleasure in seeing what mom created around my painting, or how I could frame her collage, has been immense.
“Let’s do some collaborative work.”
Thanks mom, great idea.
Chemyn Kodis
May 2018