Caloplaca Citrina

collagraph and monotype print on paper, 23 x 16", 2024, $750

Symbiotica: microcosm of beauty thriving through community inspired by the symbiotic nature of lichen.

Composing with oil on canvas and intaglio etchings, my art chronicles atmospheric rhythms, luminous patterns and the symbiotic nature of community. My Intaglio print series Symbiotica refers to the symbiotic relationship between algae and fungus which form lichen. Neither plant nor animal, lichen are a unique life form that live on clean air. These magical beings photosynthesize and fix nitrogen from the air, making them harbingers of our environment, acting as guides, who warn us about the health of our planet. Lichen provide food and housing material for other forest species.

Symbiotica is a metaphor for community and forming relationships for a better world. One has to look carefully to find lichen on the forest floor, on sidewalks, rocks, an old building, city railing, or bark on a twig in the park. To find fascination in unlikely places and appreciate the beauty around me, in my fellow beings, in myself and my artwork is part of the inspiration of lichen.
Wild Magic of Community series includes images inspired by the #metoo movement and Women’s marches. Counter to traditional etching,I allow the etching process to bite the edges of the plate creating the effect of erosion.My creative process dances between figurative imagery and abstract material processes that propel my forms into a world of the unexpected.

Andrea grew up in Los Angeles, watching smog creep over hills and valleys. After many adventures she arrived in the Northwest where nature has informed her work. When she moved from the water’s edge to the forest, the transition changed the focus of her art from light glinting on water, to the minutiae of the forest floor.
Her awards include: King County Arts Commission, Art Port Townsend and Helena Rubenstein Foundation. Lawson’s Public Art, Brain Beauty, Beauty Brain is installed in the Camano Island Library.