Artist's Statement
My art practice always begins with direct observation. I generally use my own photos, research what I have discovered, and look at the implications from both a scientific and a metaphorical perspective. My extensive experience in fiber arts techniques inform the way I approach my surfaces. Rather than using felting needles or a sewing machine, I now employ traditional pyrography converter boxes connected to nichrome wire pens, heat-sensitive chemicals, heat guns, butane torches and tiny carving tools. Color is applied with stains, (some of which I make myself), dyes and colored pencils, complementing the already detailed textures. I have used bone, hand made paper and leather as a base for my work. However, working on plywood provides not just a smooth, grain-free surface, but also creates a material dichotomy, with plywood being a product that is highly processed and conceptually far removed from an actual tree.
I am interested in focusing on what is overlooked, bringing attention to displacement, adaptation and resilience through amplifying what may be tiny, hidden stories. I consider the work successful if it stimulates a conversation- an opportunity for education and connection on a more personal level.
A Brief Biography:
Brett S. Poza holds a BFA in textiles from Rhode Island School of Design, an MA in Art Therapy from Lesley University and an MFA from Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt). She worked for over 25 years as an art therapist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Department of Mental Health, primarily in long- term, locked hospital settings.
Brett is a guest reviewer, visiting lecturer and graduate student mentor at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She has also supervised and mentored many graduate art and expressive therapy students in her practice as a registered art therapist.
During the past year Brett relocated to the Monadnock region of North Central Massachusetts with her family, affording her the opportunity to be in close contact with the area’s abundant wildlife, lakes and forests. She currently spends her evenings trying to figure out how to keep local predators from getting into her chicken coop.
