Willa Cox

Working with multiple panels has fascinated me since my graduate school days, when I fell in love with the paintings of Joan Mitchell. My fascination grew as I also came to love Japanese folding screens. I enjoy the challenge of creating individual panels that stand as compositions on their own and also relate to their adjacent panels in a variety of ways, creating a balance of flow and surprise. The sequencing of the panels led to my interest in presenting them in accordion-style handmade books. Working across fourteen panels gives me the opportunity to make many shifts, for example: near to intermediate to distant spaces; representational to abstract; light to dark; and black and white to color. The images are made with a wide variety of monotype printmaking methods using ink or acrylic on collagraph, metal, gel, and clay plates as well as marbling and direct painting. The books can also be presented accordion-style in a straight line, an arc, or a circle.