Hello! My name is Margaret Kasahara, and I have 2 pieces in “Big Draw Colorado”, “Notation 38-20” and “Notation 5-23”.
My work is an expression of identity and what it means to be alive, here and now. I’m responding to everyday life – from the familiar rhythm of ordinary days, to the twists and turns of extraordinary events. I often incorporate common objects and materials to reflect the everyday nature of the work.
I call my small mixed-media works on paper, Notations. I am taking note of thoughts and feelings, spe cific events, and moments in time. They are visual poems, and the images are distilled to their es sence. The Notations are layered in meaning and are often metaphorical.
• “ Notation 38-20” – is a work in a series of pieces created in the year 2020, where I used fire and burned paper in response to worldwide wildfires, and to also reflect social and political passions ignited in protest and unrest. Destruction brings uncertainty, but hope lies beneath the ashes, and positive change can grow.
• “ Notation 5-23” – is a part of a recent series of works inspired by the Japanese art of kintsugi – a traditional style of ceramic repair that utilizes gold infused lacquer. In “Notation 5-23”, the gold-leafed broken branches reflect the act of healing after several devastating family losses in 2022. High winds took down pine trees where I live – and those fallen branches reminded me of the now broken ends of my family tree. Through a metaphoric use of kinstugi, I’m express ing the process of healing and recovery after death and feelings of loss.
Throughout the Notations, there is the thread of hope, and it is with hope that by being true and by sharing my perspective I can create connection and contribute to our collective journey.
