Alexandra McClain (Hart)'s Projects

BFA Alumni

Major: Printmaking

Graduation Year: 2001

Artist Statement:

I like to think about what makes a drawing a drawing. Of the elements that make up a drawing, lines are the most interesting to me.
My drawings are about drawing. I create a system, a drawing consisting of lines drawn free-hand, as close together as possible, without touching. I find the systematic approach to be freeing and still give me unlimited outcomes, without being overwhelmed by the possibilities.
My work can be paradoxical. It is mechanical and methodical, controlled, measured yet full of imperfection and chance. These works are distilled constructions, over simplifications. I am influenced by naturally occurring patterns like tree rings or anything to do with water like rain or ripple effects.
There is a tension between the human touch and a mechanical system. This is taken from my interest in patterns in nature and the appreciation in natural phenomena. The repeated lines are my response to natural observation made abstract. I am impressed by the power of lines in their most simple form. Even though my work is structured the effects are random in the same way nature is. I am exploring ideas of control and accident. These systems produce accident in a controlled system. Working with one line in repetition never gets dull no two pieces are alike.

Biography:

I am a wife, missionary and artist living in Jackson, MS. I was born in Gloucester, MA and resided there till entering MECA's BFA program in 1996. I graduated in 2001 with a degree in Printmaking. My professional career has been mainly in retail management, working for the Maine based company Artist and Craftsman Supply for seven years. I attended ministry school in Redding, CA graduating with a certificate of ministry in 2012. Since 2015 I have been living and serving in Jackson, MS as a missionary in the historic Farish St District. I enjoy maintaining my drawing practice when I am not saving the world.