artist's statement:

My work is directed by the way I perceive myself, the world, and the interaction between the two. As a student I was drawn to cultural studies and looked for reasoning behind society's rules. Sometimes the subject comes from something very personal to me, an area where I am struggling with my place in the world. Sometimes it stems from a world debate or event. In both cases, I try to bring each issue to an absurd level in order to exaggerate its strangeness or peculiarity. Each piece develops through the illustration of a story, usually the story of my thought process. There are often many levels to the story and many things going on at once. I utilize this as a tool to entice the viewer to step up close to an image, to become more intimate with it, and, hopefully, to become more intimate with me.

I have chosen woodcuts as my medium because of the simplicity of the black and white image and the expressiveness of the wood. The images have a great solidness and boldness to them. They are strong images composed of texture and pattern created with simple lines. I enjoy the process of carving the wood and take pride in the fine art product of the wood block itself.


about the artist:

Cafferata grew up in suburban Connecticut and received a degree in Cultural Anthropology with minors in Art and Architecture from Washington University in St. Louis. After working as a librarian in a small town public library for three years, Cafferata relocated to Portland, Maine to pursue art.