figure to figure ellen heck

Collecting pieces from four projects that all depict human figures rendered by the same hand at different scales and with different materials has been an opportunity to examine some effects of format. At the start of a new series, I deliberately choose a medium, scale, and composition that seem most likely to create an environment that will answer the question of the project. These format choices, which are often linked to the content of the early pieces in the series, become conventions as the series progresses. As a project reaches a conclusion, it will also tend to push against some of those conventions sparking ideas and bringing up new questions—the seeds of the next series.

On the pages that follow are some of the questions, conclusions, and observations surrounding the four figure-focused bodies of work included in Figure to Figure

Ellen Heck

Opposite page: Ellen Heck in her studio

This page: Ava as Frida

Woodcut and drypoint, 2012

6 x 8 inch plate