Spring Happenings

I'm off to a slow start in 2026. I haven't been creating as much new artwork as I'd like. Sometimes life get in the way; but since part of that life was a one week trip to Switzerland with my sisters, a drive out to Maryland to visit my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons, and a quick trip to Ohio for my niece's wedding shower; I'm not complaining.

The Abstract Collage class that I taught in early March was a success. The students all produced beautiful pieces. I'm sure I'll be offering the class again in the future.

As a sample piece for the class, I created the small piece (below left) that I titled, Rolling Hills. I had tried several different landscape compositions, but wasn’t happy with any of them. It took a bit of reworking, but I feel like this piece came together with the addition of the blossoming trees. This piece

is mounted on a 6”x12” cradle board.

One of the other abstract landscapes that I had given up on for a time was also recently completed. This piece (above right) is titled, Thumbnail Moon. After some days, I came back to it, changed parts of the composition, and ultimately determined that I needed to break all of the horizontal elements with something vertical; hence, the trees were added. I’m happy with the finished piece. It’s mounted on an 11"x14" cradle board.

Also, I’m pleased to share that I received a 2nd place award for my pastel painting, Courtyard Garden, and an Honorable Mention for my collage, White Petals and All, at the Spanning the Generations exhibit put on by Crossroads Arts Council in Wentzville, MO. I'm so honored by this recognition.

Every year I create some small (4"x6") collages in preparation for the National Collage Society's annual Small Format Exhibit. The piece on the left is titled, Out Loud. People often ask me how I come up with the ideas for my work. This piece was completely driven by the pink and yellow pieces of paper. That paper was originally one of the pieces of scrap paper on which I paint and apply glue for other papers. As I was using it, I found that I really liked the pink paint on the bright yellow paper as well as the contrast of the black square outlines against the pink. I cut out a section of the scrap paper and decided to use it as a starting point for a collage. Bright pink is not a color I’m usually drawn to but, in this case, I think it worked.

The piece on the right, Declaration, is the collage that became my entry for the the Small Format Exhibit. This collage started with the print of a gingko leaf, which was printed on an old dictionary page. Some of the text is still visible through the paint. The exhibit runs from May 14-June 30, 2026 at the University Galleries of Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL.

Today I completed my mixed media collage, Farm & Field. This piece began by creating some textured papers using gesso applied to paper with a palette knife, or paint shaper. This process created a variety of slightly raise textures on the paper. Those textured papers were then painted and I used them to create the fields in the foreground of the composition, the barn roof, and part of the hills in the background. For the sky, I used gel printed tissue paper. Additional elements were created with wallpaper scraps and computer printed images that were embellished with acrylic paint. This piece took some time to complete but I enjoyed trying new techniques and experimenting with various media. The piece is flush mounted on a 16”x12” cradle board.

Finally, a few days ago I submitted my application to the Fall 2026 Queeny Art Fair. Notification is in early July, and I am hopeful about being accepted. The art fair takes place on Labor Day Weekend. I'll have more information about that later this summer.