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Laurel Breyen: Knoxville Artist
The following article highlights an up-and-coming Knoxville Artist named Laurel Breyen who combines an ancient Japanese art form with colorful, beautifully-rendered drawings. What follows is a description of Laurel's work, in the artist's own words. Enjoy! SUMINIGASHI, from the Japanese word meaning “floating ink,” is an art form more than 800 years old that was practiced by Japan’s royal household. It is the process of floating sumi inks and a clear solution on the surface of a water bath to form concentric rings of color. The floating rings are then fanned or gently blown into a design. Rice paper is then carefully placed onto the liquid surface to create a contact print. Like a human thumbprint, no two are alike. 
My art is the combined love of creating this one-of-a-kind suminigashi paintings with my drawing skills. By first creating these unique marbled designs on rice paper, I then proceed to study the pattern I’ve created with an eye for a drawn image that will “flow” into the organic pattern created from the free-flowing ink. Drawing tools range from charcoal, graphite, watercolor pencils, and combinations of all three. The images I choose range from fish/animals, to trees/nature, to the human figure/face. 
Image sources ranges from famous sculptural figures to my own stockpile of trees, plants, people, or animals, that I am always photographing or sketching. I believe that when the two artforms converge, magic happens. It is my goal to create in each work, an ethereal, other-worldly fantasy image that piques the mind and eye, compelling the viewer into experiencing a brief moment of Zen. Return to Knoxville Art Scene from Laurel Breyen Return to Knoxville Business from Laurel Breyen
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