“Michael's design resonated with me because I adore color and love playing with it. I also love Tuscan marbled paper and the pattern also instantly reminded me of Emilio Pucci’s work in fashion. And with Pucci being a Reed college graduate, like my daughter, I loved the interweaving of the stories and pattern even more, and how local and personal the process became.”
– Christiane Millinger
“As with past designs, this new one began with selecting a palette and then opening oneself up to painterly play. At a certain point in that process, the “marbled paper” motif emerged. I sat with that for a while, finding it interesting but also somehow incomplete. Sometime thereafter, I added the “V” shape on top of the design. I felt like this added both conceptual complexity and visual interest…and a feeling of both spontaneity and completeness. I suppose in hindsight, the playfulness of Sigmar Polke comes to mind. He certainly showed us how to not take the act of painting too seriously.”
“Christiane then proposed a variant on the design that switched out the “V” for a circle. I am always attracted to the moon shape… It conjures so much.”
“But in the end, I don’t think the intent or process matters. It’s just about whether the piece is compelling and holds the interest of those interacting with it. For me, the goal is to create something that does that.”
– Michael Howells
