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About.
Artist Statement
I am a transdisciplinary artist researching the deep connection between the health of my body and the earth’s. My guiding question is: how do I visualize healing as a wholeness that is continuously ruptured and rebuilt? Whether working with fungi, plants, trees, slime molds, digital beings or my own body, I am drawn to the inherent unpredictability of these partnerships and the surrender that it requires of me. I work across media allowing concepts and ideas to develop as my means of making shifts across: printmaking, choreographing, video, foraging, inkmaking, sculpture, augmented/virtual reality, fiber and biomaterials. As I document natural processes in the more-than-human world (fungi, plants, trees, slime molds), I use that documentation to imagine my internal world and its cycles of decay and regrowth – always fluctuating. It is in this constant flux that I find a quiet hopefulness, as life renews without permission.
Teaching Philosophy
My teaching philosophy focuses on students’ problem-solving abilities. I believe art is a tool for experiencing, understanding, and navigating the world. My goal is to guide each student to their unique version of this tool by introducing them to a wide range of materials and processes: dance, rigorous research, poetry, video, biomaterials, foraging, augmented/virtual reality, inkmaking, fiber and sculpture. I emphasize ecological interconnectedness, material research, the development of systems for process, and foster collaboration.
Bio
Sara Dotterer grew up in Richmond, VA. She received her B.A. in Studio Art and Anthropology at Washington and Lee University and her MFA in Interdiscplinary Art from Southern Methodist University. She is now living in Brooklyn, NY.
My Links
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Find out more about my process on Instagram
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My MFA thesis booklet can be read here
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Email me at saradotterer@gmail.com
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Check out my other creative work at www.saradotterer.com
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Curriculum Vitae can be found here
Press
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Lori Abichandani and I wrote about brands and biomimicry here: “Taking Cues from Nature: Restoring Personal and Brand Vitality” (2024)
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April Kissinger writes about my interactive art walk in Austin Texas here: “Decompose/Decompone: An Interactive Mycelial Experience,” on MycoStories (2024)
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I gave a talk for ITMO University in St. Petersburg Russia accompanying a fungi-focused exhibition here: “Mycelium Dialogues: Fungal Teacher Artist Talk” (2023)