Sam Lennon lives in a small and unique riverfront community off the Chesapeake Bay. Her waterfront cottage in Maryland allows her to be close to the thriving art communities of Washington, D.C., and Baltimore while living near the rural horse farms in Southern Maryland, where she feels most at home. She completed her art training at VCU School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia, and relished her time in a city that derives so much from the arts.
Her work is the result of experimenting to design a paper kite that would have the qualities of stained glass when flying. After developing a few collages, Lennon realized they were too special to risk flying. Even so, her early pieces that hung in galleries along the East Coast were framed as traditional bamboo Japanese kite. She experimented with several framing styles and currently frames them between glass to highlight the delicacy of the work while ensuring the art is protected.
The handmade natural papers are sourced from around the world for their intricate patterns and unique textures and colors. Some of the papers have patterns from silkscreen, batik, or marbling. The papers are sourced from many countries, such as Nepal, Japan, India, Brazil, Malaysia, and Belgium.
Lennon states, "I can never quite find the color paper that exactly matches my vision, and I wouldn't want to. By placing the different rich patterns and textures next to each other, I achieve the effect I want. There is a balance of chaos and control that comes from using the papers available. Painters can mix an exact color; by using the limited palette that paper offers, I enjoy the challenge it takes to make my vision come to life."
As a seasoned artist, her meticulous approach goes unnoticed, as the viewer is captivated by an image that, upon second glance, seems to be a haphazard scattering of scraps of paper. The colors that Lennon perceives in nature are not subtle. What may seem to be a hayfield darkening at dusk, she sees as deep reds and rich purples. When the sun is setting, she notices the slight green hue at the edge of the horizon, and in the darkness of night, she sees the yellow glow around the moon, thus creating her vibrant and unique creations.