Collage

Phaneuf collages as much as she collects, sorts and observes collage materials. She presses natural materials to use alongside sources of color with more longevity (i.e. gold leaf, clay). She is interested in the ephemerality leaves, flower petals or bark lend to a piece. She experiments with work that instead of fading, might age gracefully as the colors change.

She is heavily influenced by her studies in the historical use of pigments in painting and tapestries. An understanding of the way pigments lose vibrance over time allows a viewer to see the age of a work by interpreting the colors that have and have not survived exposure to time, light and the elements.