WORK
“I have a fascination with old news. I love to read articles from the New York Times that date back to the 1850s,” said Sahertian. Her latest series of books and works on paper reflect that interest.
Tiny vintage typewriter ribbon tins house this collection of miniature books with themes ranging from speedy secretaries to a glimpse of the construction of panama canal and to the history of the typewriters themselves. Influenced by the cover of each tin, Sahertian creates a story within each tiny containers. "Webster" is a collaboration with her friend, artist and writer Shari Bombeck, who writes a whimsical story of teenage love.
Civil war generals, sewing pattern dolls and clothing, vintage photos and eyeballs make for interesting decorative pins in these "memento mori" that were made for the A Book About Death exhibition Sahertian curated in May 2011 in Phoenix.
Sahertian teamed up with a group of scientists to depict the budget of phosphorus in the city of Phoenix in the series MINDING YOUR "P"s for the Sustainable P Summit 2011. She explores the collage form even further with her use of 1800s pamphlets, 1950s ads and overlays of familiar objects.
Can you ever say you are sorry too much? Patricia answers a challenge by searching her own email to pull out her use of this word, in a group of collages that contain old photos, ephemera and wax.
The book (edition of three) IN THE TRENCHES, a collaboration with her long time friend, Mary C. Leto, is based on the burials of dead babies at NYC’s Hart Island.
Body of Evidence (books one and two) contain reproductions of her works in oil pastels depicting found objects from an old heating grate from Staten Island, along with hints and allusions to its mystery.
Patricia’s mail art incorporates collage, stamping and transfers. Many of them referencing familiar places from her past, like Brooklyn’s Coney Island.