"The Last Word" 16.25" x 10" x 3"

"My work is an exploration of the natural world. I use scraps of wood, paper, bone, and fabric and include both found and crafted specimens. Each art piece contains a variety of processes including collagraph printmaking, woodworking, and sculpting. There is a certain practicality and reflection to my work. I work with things that have died, but left a beautiful reminder of their existence (skulls, vertebrae, fossils, and insects). I am inspired by the sense of discovery of 18th and19th century natural history collections, and the preservation of reliquaries housed in the great cathedrals. As they do, my art invites a closer study of the earth around us." Bess

Bess Whittington lives in Greenville, SC with her dog, Leroy. She graduated with a degree in art and primarily works in the 2D/3D mixed-media space.