Patricia Bates

Patricia Bates, née Martin, artist (b at Saint John 25 June 1927). She studied art in Belgium, France and New York, as well as Mt Allison University, NB. Her principal medium has always been printmaking, and she is one of the few artists to exploit embossing techniques successfully. Highly innovative, her work includes 2-sided prints meant to hang away from the wall. They are usually perforated, and may employ laminations and embroidery. Her colour, which is limited to black, white and silver, is used symbolically, as is her imagery - geometric compositions inspired by the cosmology of the Islamic Middle East or the Zen Buddhist mandala. She is professor of fine arts at University of Victoria and in 1986 a show of her work was held in Vancouver.