Zen Blues & Visual Ponderings. Mixed Media Cyanotypes by Colleen Steenhagen

Colleen's current collection of mixed media art is built upon cyanotypes created from found materials and negatives. With her long history of photography, she has been drawn to the cyanotype process of developing images with the use of the sun in her own back yard in place of a darkroom within the confines of a building. As a mixed media artist, Colleen uses the cyanotypes as the initial layer in a multi-stepped experience of discovery. Each piece develops on its own as she is intuitively guided to combine imagery, pencil, pastels, paint, fabric, stitch, and wax, etc. Bit by bit she crops, rotates, outlines, and adds color or texture to build up a piece.

Colleen earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin--Parkside in Interdisciplinary Arts: Sculpture, Photography, and Printmaking. One of her sculptures, a movable, metal flower, “Blossom,” is on permanent display on the grounds of UW-Parkside in Kenosha. Colleen is a world traveler who calls Kenosha WI her homebase.

"I am hopeful that, as with me, this work may elicit an emotion or stir up a vague memory or two of places or moments inspired by mystery and knowing.”

-- Colleen Steenhagen
 

On view through October 9

Opening Reception

Saturday, August 27, 6-9pm

Plus live music & food truck

Photo: Floral Conversations by Colleen Steenhagen | Mixed Media Cyanotype