Discarded translucent paper fascinates Bartelt as a source of imagery in her geometric and formally austere collages: notably its wrinkles, subtly imperfect edges, blemishes, and graphic remnants from earlier uses. These qualities of the found material are of particular interest to Bartelt when glued onto stretched linen, especially when combined with blocks of applied pastel. Soft greys, light buffs, duck-egg blue, red oxide, pale khakis, and beiges dominate amidst carefully balanced, nuanced but brittle, shapes. See, for example, Big Boy (2018) and My Dear (2019).
Sometimes, Bartelt makes works by applying white paper pulp directly onto stretched brown jute, as in Paper Pulp (2020) and Paper Pulp 1 (2020). She also constructs unstretched hangings, mixing loose canvas with linen and paper, such as Changing Sides (2020).
