The desire to embellish a surface, whether it is the carving of a facade on an ancient temple or the enhancement of skin with cosmetics, is a universal drive that has been documented through
anthropological evidence and shown to have existed in every culture throughout every age. I respond to this thought through my work by layering appropriated shapes into a nebula of ornaments
that by recombination are placed within a new conceptual framework. The embellishment of the surface of the paper or wall is one of joy and affirmation. I experience the process of ornamentation as a celebration of life and an expression of what it means to be human.

I create mixed media work on paper using ornament as a tool to make suggestions about the nature of narrative structure. I draw highly decorative arrangements of shapes to be embedded with
unexpected motifs that are in reference to an enigmatic story continuously changing as it unfolds. I seek to produce work that is beautiful and entertaining while simultaneously functioning to slowly reveal a conceptual space for the contemplation of how a story might be structured without a beginning, middle or end. I hope to inspire the intellectual creativity of the viewer to uncover new stories or meanings from within the psychological experience of seeing.

-Nancy Brown