Cut it Out

I don't paint. Over the years I have developed my collage technique into one which is exclusively faithful to cutting and tearing. From the most complete background papers to the tiniest dots of eyes and I's, I only cut or rip. This has become a real issue for me. I wear my "no pencils, pens nor paints" sign like a badge of honor. I feel as if even a pinpoint of India ink would be a betrayal and a sin, a misrepresentation of my chosen, truly loved, medium.

I have walked this self-imposed straight and narrow since my book Kanahena was published in 1988, when I used a red pen to dot the eyes of the wolves. Those eyes still make me wince every time I see them, and so I have kept this rule ever since.