A native Rhode Islander, Mary Chatowsky Jameson was drawn to the ocean at an early age. “My first experience with printing marine life was on an island in the British West Indies,” she says. “While working on a charter sailboat, captained by a marine scientist, we made a visit to an island hosting an international marine science workshop run by Jean-Michel Cousteau. They were studying local fish and part of the research was printing them in the Japanese method of Gyotaku. I was invited to join in the process and have been working with marine life ever since.

“In my current body of work,” she says, “I am exploring marine algae as a contemporary art form. I collect specimens and organic matter from the intertidal zones along the coast, from Long Island to Maine. Back at the studio I study the shape, texture and color of individual species and start a process of symbiotic layering to create new forms. For most people, seaweed is a nuisance - my work presents a new awareness for consideration and offers new insights into the mysteries and beauty of the marine world.”