Typically I begin making a 3-D piece by finding an object or seeing a shape that inspires me. It may be a seedpod or a piece of wood I spot while walking. It may be the form of a water tower or smokestack that moves me to make a rough sketch. My inspiration is derived equally from the natural and the industrial realms. I will take the form with me and it may be weeks or months that it will sit on my workbench as I continue with other projects. I see the form over and over and most of what arises when I begin to work with it is from the subconscious. As I work out from the original form, my decisions become more intentional with surfaces richly colored or densely patterned. If the basis for the piece is natural material, I seek to at least partially obscure its origins to allow the form to embody its new manifestation. In a finished piece, the natural material that inspired it may be obscured completely. While I use simple techniques and materials, I work away from those basic beginnings with my greatest intention being to infuse the form of the character with expression, personality, and weight. At first glance, my work can seem humorous and cartoonish. I am continually seeking a balance between that invitation for visual engagement and what I believe exists beyond that initial response—a silence and a sadness in a piece’s posture. The figures are often in awkward positions, weighed down, or distorted in some fashion. They are neither human nor animal and there is a certain contradiction in and confusion to their very existence. While there is variety among the pieces, each shares a sense of displacement and an absurdity.

Mollie Zanoni
Northampton, Massachusetts
2008