Margaret DeLima, Made of Stars, papier‐mâché, bass wood, plastic toy, graphite specimen, 3” x 3” x 8”

American, b. 1969, playing from Kings Park, NY, USA

Margaret DeLima holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts and an MS in Education.

Her art practice explores the functions of reliquary through mixed media works in paper and found objects, and investigates communication, body and relationship via autobiographical narratives. She teaches art and design courses at Molloy College, Suffolk Community College and NYIT. Her work has been shown at the Athens Institute for Contemporary Art in Athens, GA and at the Brevard Art Museum in Melbourne, FL.

For more about this artist’s work, please visit: www.margaretdelima.com

Thoughts on the Telephone process

I love this idea. I have always been fascinated by the telephone game, how things get lost in the telling. Participating in this project forced me to focus on how I read other’s works. I recall a college poetry class in which a frustrated professor insisted my interpretation was unfounded. I wanted to take from the poem what resonated with me, not what the writer intended. However, in my art, I wanted my audience to understand my message. I got angry when viewers constructed their own meaning from my work, disregarding my intention. I was unhappy with seemingly random associations made by the audience. And yet, over time, I have relaxed to allow viewers to take what they will from my work. I like how connections are sparked and meaning is compounded, not necessarily easily identified, extracted from the process. So, participating in this project allowed me to revisit these ideas, and realize that I have evolved, much like a misinterpreted phrase, and grown in to new – and perhaps more relevant – meaning.