Gifts For Him 2014

Artist Comments
A conceptual collage illustrating binary star movement. Part of John's newest series of mixed media works meticulously hand cut from vintage paper and stitche...

Artist Comments
A modern abstract recalling the colors and shapes of a snowy day. Artist Margriet Hogue layered paint and various types of paper that she distressed through scraping and sanding. "I then added different fabrics at the end and finished with a layer of cold wax," says Margriet. "In winter, this is what it looks like outside my window."

About the Artist
Artist Margriet Hogue creates layered mixed media paintings inspired by "the contours of the land, the distressed surfaces and the colors of the different seasons," as she explains. Born in the Netherlands, Margriet's family moved to Venezuela when she was 6 months old, and then immigrated to Canada when she was in middle school. As a child, her mother taught her various fiber crafts. Buying her first loom allowed Margriet to pay her way through college, and after graduating, she spent years producing textiles and clothing. Unfortunately, the dust from weaving aggravated her child's asthma, so she started a needlework business called The Essamplaire (old French for sampler). "Whenever we would be on holidays I'd make appointments with museums to see their sampler collections and would request licensing agreements to reproduce them in the form of needlework kits," explains Margriet. "Samplers were part of a girl’s education from the 1500s to the early 1900s and consisted of them stitching alphabets, pictorial images and quaint verses." In 2014, Margriet attended an acrylic painting workshop, which she describes as very freeing after the fine and detailed work involved in needlework. Today, when she's not painting, she enjoys road trips through the mountains to the west coast, visiting family who live far and wide, and continuing to oversee her needlework business.

Words that describe this painting: abstract, collage, modern, abstract, non-representational, mixed media artwork, white

Winter Solstice...

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Artist Libby Ramage collaged wine labels and sheet music to create these two singers and their pet dog. "It's a study of the gender divide of song," says Libby....

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Eric Wilson demonstrates a lively organic pastel abstraction that elicits being in the present moment. Fluid layers of earthy tones c...

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"It's a muted meditative exploration of how physical distance, as well as the distance created by the passage of time, affects our experiences of memory and pla...

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A minimalistic geometric abstraction, part of artist John Gardner's newest series of mixed media works. He meticulously hand cuts...

Artist Comments
Brit describes this delicate abstraction as the place where land and sea meet in the stillness of winter. Rich purple mountains in the distance and reflected in the water give way to soft yellow and grey light in all directions. "The wisdom of the natural world tells us that a time of rest is important - wintertime is a season for reflection and renewal of energies before the new life of spring can emerge," says Brit. The highly textured surface and low relief effects are created by a combination of embossed papers and layering of acrylic paint.

About the Artist
Artist Brit J Oie grew up in a small rural town on the west coast of Norway where nature was her playground and creativity was a way of life. The men in her family were woodworkers and the women did knitting, sewing and weaving. Brit started her art career as a weaver in Norway. After marrying an American and moving to the United States, she went back to school for a degree in Fine Art. During her senior exhibition, Brit developed her mixed media technique using embossed...

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As I look around, I hear everyone talking, but very few appear to be doing. This piece is created using reclaimed wood. It comes ready to hang.

About the Artist
When asked how she became an artist, sculptor Heather Patterson replied, “I just seem to be built that way.” Heather is passionate about creating, and is constantly inspired by her daily surroundings and experiences. The artist’s body of work is governed by her mission to reassign meaning to materials that have outlived their perceived purpose. She works with reclaimed wood and window panes to produce geometric wall sculptures that may remind the viewer of abstract modernist paintings. Modernism conjures an underlying tension in Heather-–a “vibration,” she calls it. Each sculpture is created without a premeditated plan or sketch, but is instead governed by feeling and intuition.

After All...

Artist Comments
Artist Margriet Hogue presents a collaged abstract piece with a gentle pastel palette. Distressed papers constitute the lively canvas. Enigmatic patterns in ink...

Artist Comments
This piece is part of my stripes series. It is painted on a gallery wrapped canvas, with black sides, and comes ready to hang.

About the Artist