Trace #1197 By Etsuko Ichikawa. Courtesy of Randall Scott Gallery

From the traditional to the more experimental, artists have used many different things to make marks on paper, and visual artist Etsuko Ichikawa tends toward the experimental. In Trace, now at Randall Scott Gallery, Ichikawa showcases her smokey, abstract drawings that were created with hot molten glass.

Ichikawa’s work is consistent as each piece is an abstract pattern made from the glass on paper. The marks are brown and smokey and the color shifts ever so slightly depending on the pressure and intensity of the heat from the glass. Each piece captures the movement used in its making. Some have delicate strokes and others have harsh, hurried lines. It is beautiful and simplistic but the result isn’t as captivating as the process.

Projected onto the upper portion of the gallery wall is a video of Ichikawa in action. The short video is called Deai, which means encounter in Japanese. In it we see Ichikawa stamp, drizzle and roll blown glass onto paper. Her actions are quick and controlled. The mark making is fast as time is of the essence. In some instances this process sets the paper on fire. An assistant squirts water onto certain areas, helping to cool and set the marks.