Ricarda McDonald is an artist born in 1952 in Regina, Saskatchewan. She studied from 1967-1968 at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Performing Arts Summer Program, graduated from the National Ballet School, Toronto in 1971, received a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from the University of Waterloo in 1976, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, Vancouver in 1997.
Scope and content
The collection consists of two manuscript pages in pencil with a mathematical theorem "The Squeeze Theorem," a computer generated text on paper, written by the artist, 1997, a single page of consecutive numbers beginning at 1,659,324, from a calculus textbook written by Leithold, 169 (i.e. 13 x 13 ) unfired clay balls, August 1997, and a photocopy on paper of the clay balls, 28 x 42.5 cm, 1997.
Note
The artists stated the following: "A recent brain injury offered me a new perspective and at the same time, the opportunity to develop a new art process. After 6 weeks in bed, I began my journey back to art. Beginning with tiny pieces of clay rolled painfully in my hands, I worked. As this became less difficult, I began to make small ink drawings and paintings; always on the same size paper to keep them small and manageable. When the clay pieces began to accumulate, I began to photograph them. This process led me through clay, pen and ink, acrylic paint, photography, photocopies, monoprints, silk-screen, cyanotype, photo-etching, text and steel this year. At times, experiencing organizing difficulties, I called on my mathematical background to provide formal structure for my process and my work."
