It was her artist mother that sowed the seeds of Cathy Stanley’s passionate love for paper – a passion that has seen her involved in all aspects of paper making, at many levels, from assisting in tertiary education to establishing ‘craft’ projects and of course her personal journey as an artist.

Her stunning, abstract works result from a constant exploration of the physical nature of paper, its textures, surface design and forming processes, resulting in pieces that are modern yet timeless, and reflecting a refined internalised sense of colour and idealistic beauty.

The immediacy and translucency of the colours, obtained through dyes, model and express light. An instinctive colourist, Cathy composes living chords of colour that retain the beauty and original freshness of colour.

Cathy believes her work should be perceived purely aesthetically rather than searched for meaning, although it does carry inferred meanings through the heritage of paper and the history of its invention and use.

It is the works themselves, their scale and lightness, their placement, that bestow a sense of purity and emotional force, resulting in durable, original and affordable works of art. While Cathy prefers working alone on her pieces, she is helped with the tea light lanterns and paper strings by Brigit Pyoos and Veronika, local Xhosa ladies.

Cathy’s work is on display at the Artisan Gallery, 344 Florida Road, Morningside, Durban, www.artisan.co.za and Cathy is contactable via the gallery on 031 312 4364