Artist Statement
My body of work largely reflects a preference for process and materiality. Even if I’m not patient, the process forces me to be, and in turn I spend more time considering the making and fine tuning for the next step and the next piece.
While isolated and bedridden for 6 months this past year, my work shifted to past spaces I’d been in and took photos of in a way of escapism from what I was experiencing in my day to day life and struggling to live with. Despite now being more mobile than I was, it has still been a constant reality and physical pain I have to deal with - one that has impacted how I work and by extension what I can work on.
My most recent body of work reflects a blending of daydreams, memories, and experiences. These have been the core generative concepts behind the works, and while some end up as whimsical musings, others are more literal and technique driven with a specific moment referenced.
Material wise, there is an emphasis on pigments collected, synthesized, and traded for. Ochres traded with a print friend in Australia, Prussian Blue synthesized in my bathtub during quarantine, and dirt from the site of my car accident.
Artist Bio
Vera Duran McBride works predominantly in printmaking, paper arts, book arts, and watercolor painting. The work is environmental based in terms of spaces, locations, and memory. The process of the making is a large factor into the work, as well as the sourcing of materials. Recently she has been working on projects synthesizing pigments and introducing them into her practice. She attended UC Berkeley for Art Practice and lives and works in Sacramento, CA.