Alice Stanne’s Artwork “Wading” Into Campus

by Jessica Lynch

Alice Stanne, a member of the New England Book Artists organization, created her piece “Wading” with the feeling of the waves at the beach in mind. Stanne is one of 26 artists belonging to the NEBA organization who were asked by the Higgins Art Gallery to create pieces that encapsulate Cape Cod for an exhibit currently on display at the Tilden Arts Center, aptly named “Cape Bound.” Stanne’s “Wading” is about a foot and a half tall piece consisting of six individual panels that are connected in an accordion like fashion. The panels are painted with an ombre of blue colors replicating the colors of the ocean. The piece can be placed on the floor and folded out to create the effect of walking through calf high water. It can also be folded up to be carried around to wherever you need a little piece of the beach.

Alice Stanne piece "Wading." Jessica Lynch

Q: When did you realize you wanted to be an artist? Were you interested in creating art at a young age?

A: Yes, I was always an art kid even when I was very young. My dream job was to be a children’s book illustrator. I went to Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, and I studied illustration. I got really into handmade book binding and that became my passion, and I’ve been doing it a little over a decade now.

Q: In regard to your piece on display at Higgins Art Gallery, “Wading,” what inspired you to create your piece?

A: For this piece, I was excited about the idea of creating a book that was so large it was almost a sculpture. It can be placed on the floor, and you can walk around it, and when you do that it hits about knee height and sort of replicates the experience of wading through water. I liked the idea that you could interact with the book without necessarily turning pages in the way that we traditionally think of experiencing a book.

Q: Were there any challenges you faced while creating your piece?

A: Certainly! All of it was kind of new for me. All the panels are laser cut, and I had never used a laser cutter before, so that was new. I hadn’t worked with wood as a material before, so all of that was learning I did as I made it, which was exciting. The accordion structure is something I know, but all the materials I used were in some way new and different for me.

Q: How long did it take to create your piece?

A: I was in an intensive (graduate program) at the time, so I was working 12 hours a day, every day, so it was probably about a two-week endeavor between figuring out how to do all the laser cutting, and planning it out, and printing and assembling.

Q: What does your piece mean to you personally, and what are you hoping that students take from viewing your piece in the gallery?

A: I like to find it as a moment of zen. It creates an experience that I think many of us are probably familiar with: of walking in the ocean and the relaxed release that comes with that, of feeling the waves around your ankles and calves. So, I appreciate it as a moment of reflection and calm.

Q: Do you have any advice for students interested in becoming artists?

A: I think you really have to love it. No matter what you do with it, if you love it, things will happen. It’s a perpetual journey.

Art gallery. (Jessica Lynch)

You can view Stanne’s “Wading”, along with the other 25 artists' pieces, now through March 22 at Higgins Art Gallery in the Tilden Art Center.

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