I have always been “a creative”: Exploring one new medium after another. I attended the University of Oregon for English Literature and Fine Arts.
Constructing a visual history through literature influenced my fascination with architectural arrangement. I learned that when a writer constructs a sentence, it is a representation of that era and a reflection of what other artists are creating. Every design I create is a manifestation of my surroundings.
After graduating in 1997, I decided to continue my creative journey by enrolling at Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Arts and Crafts. I chose Graphic Design for a more “practical” means as a creative, and Printmaking to satisfy the inescapably tactile self. I eventually made my way to Portland Community College and Portland State, only to realize I was creating my own understanding of art. I was seeking out all structures of process before I could apply my own rules.
In 2004, I opened my printmaking studio: Studio Ex Machina. It was here that I found my “voice” as an artist. I explored the relief method of printmaking through collographs. I studied architectural elements and carefully constructed each plate. Once the collograph was printed, I would deconstruct each one into a series of more pieces and then sew them together again. I was reconstructing architectural elements that I had already remade. My epiphany was that the true importance of my process as an artist was not only the actual outcome, but the entire process itself. I love to live in the world of methodology.
My business, Cipriano Designs, is built from my passion to design and construct. I love working with leather, and its flexible and sometimes unpredictable nature. Each piece I create takes on a life of its own. I love screen printing and overlapping the imagery with the structure of leather. I love fabricating each design. I hope that you can recognize every single piece as I do: unique, hand-crafted functional art.
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