Idioms

Often while riding my bike through the alleys and streets of Chicago, my mind gathers the imagery and often peeks through the windows of neighbors and strangers. I began collecting these images in drawings and later making them into relief prints, carving linoleum to create my pieces with a sharp, clean illustrative quality. However, I found these prints to read as static and flat, and as much as I loved the process of carving and multiples, I was not as interested in creating editions. To remedy this, and to make further use of the vocabulary of imagery I had amassed, I began to cut and collage the prints, making them more dynamic. I was able to change the colors and create arrangements that were completely unique even if I repeated motifs from piece to piece. The end result combines the things I love the most: the bouncing imagery and stream of consciousness of city life, drawing and carving.

Damara Kaminecki holds a BFA in drawing from Brooklyn’s Pratt Institute. In the last three years she has had over twenty solo exhibitions across the country. Her work has been displayed at the Cleveland Institute of Art, Yale, and Stanford. She splits her time between New York and Chicago.