Meaghan Fleming: Blood Stained Ink

Artist Statement

Blood Stained Ink tells a vulnerable story through the use of handmade paper and broken poetry. By representing illustration and poetry in a visually compelling format that encourages deeper thinking, I aim to aid viewers in accessing and exploring buried emotions.

The process of pulp painting by creating an image inside of the paper, rather than painting on top of the surface, further emphasizes the message of the poem. Because the illustrations are within the pages and are the actual form that makes the paper, this relates the poem’s discussion of being a writer and the pages being a real part of you. At times I relinquished control to the medium when creating sheets of confusion and unclear thoughts with the desire that the medium’s freedom would elicit this message on its own. As a whole the images lean towards abstract art and allow for subjectivity. The poem is presented in fragments between the illustrations with the desire to promote subjectivity in the same way. Viewers can isolate these fragments and images if they choose and focus on sections that speak to them most. Blood Stained Ink explores childhood, passion, and pain in a new and intriguing approach.

2023 VADS - People's Choice Voting

About the Project

• Title of Work: Blood Stained Ink
• Medium: Eleven 5.5" x 9" sheets of handmade paper, able to be displayed stacked for viewers to turn over and read or framed in order in a line
• Student's Name: Meaghan Fleming
• Major: Art
• Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2024
• Hometown: St. Peter's, MO, United States
• Student's Mentor: C. Pazia Mannella
• Mentor's Department: School of Visual Studies