Margaret Merritt
The phrase 'images in paper' encompasses all of my work whether it is a sheet of handmade paper itself or one to which an image has been added by printmaking. The fragility of all paper reflects, I believe, the ephemeral quality of nature while the sheen and translucence of my handmade Asian-style papers provides a means for capturing the beauty and multiple layers of the natural world through the Chine-collé printing process. To me, the sharp lines of intaglio prints reflect the strong patterns found in nature. The mountains and lakes of New Hampshire, as well as the woods and meadows surrounding my home, inspire my designs.
Margaret Merritt was educated as a chemist and worked in industry and academia for more than 40 years. In 2002 she retired from the Wellesley College faculty to pursue full-time studio work and continued studies in print and paper making. She first studied intaglio printing at the Kalamazoo (MI) Art Institute of Art in the 1970’s and began Japanese hand papermaking at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1998. Finding a close parallel between studio art and laboratory science, she has taught courses in chemistry and art and currently offers both printmaking and hand papermaking workshops in her studio in Center Sandwich, New Hampshire.
Center Sandwich, New Hampshire
peggymerritt@gmail.com