July 2011

Selected Work

Betsy Packard continues to use the found or saved object as a mold or as material for sculpture—re-using, recycling, and transforming this material for reasons of economy, history, and aura. Often employing a mass-produced type of packing container as a mold, she sometimes adds significant material to the casting, and leaves traces of her process visible in the work. Packard is moved by the extreme quietness in the simple forms, and their startling inherent power. She uses what is abundant in her environment: newspaper, old clothing, hair, glass.

In her textile-based work she is interested in re-used, recycled, “green” materials—no waste and new utilitarian functions, the fabric having a long and storied history of its own. Sewing, quilting, weaving coverings and blankets—how to keep warm—this motivates Packard. Small scale, portability, conservation of materials, and thrift are important considerations. She is drawn to these hand-crafted processes of working for the intrinsic human value of such activity and a need for the meditative calm it provides.

Visit Packard’s website here.