Hella Merrill considers herself an alchemist. She initiates patterns on sheets of brass by applying a mixture of natural solutions. As the metal responds to these solutions, she searches for images, patterns, and textures to work with. This process is a journey of exploring light, texture, and the depth of an image on a hard, flat, reflective surface.
This work demands patience, a skill Hella Merrill honed while working with children during their master’s degree studies at Napa State Hospital and the Healdsburg school district. She is captivated by the concept of a form within a form, by the balance between what can be controlled and what cannot. Her experiences working with children and witnessing their fearless mark-making deeply influenced her art. It offered her a profound understanding of the Buddhist philosophy of knowing and not knowing, of controlling and letting go.
