ARTIST STATEMENT
Marcia Conlon is a multi media collage artist from Traverse City, Michigan, USA. She works primarily in various forms of paper: vintage magazines, antique books, maps, cardboard and other paper ephemera she picks up along the way. She also creates her own papers using acrylic paint and gesso.
Marcia has a BA in Art History from the University of Michigan but is mostly self taught in various art mediums. In addition to collage work, Marcia is also a jewelry designer specializing in vintage paper and resin.
How women are represented in the media and their roles in society is what inspires Marcia’s primary work. She is also inspired by the natural beauty or Northern Michigan where she lives by the bay.
ARTIST BIO
Collage is a medium that I have discovered fairly recently. Once I started experimenting with it I realized how much it resonated with me. It’s a medium that draws forth a deep hidden intuition. I believe my best work comes when I turn my mind off and work from pure instinct and emotion. My inspiration comes from the juxtaposition of feminity, the sublime, and traditional images of women in the media against the gritty reality of life
I like working with materials that are a little rough, grungy, maybe a little dirty. I juxtapose very feminine images of woman from vintage magazines or antique photos next to found material like cardboard, vintage paper and deconstructed book pages.
I have been drawn to artistic practices most of my life, even though I have had an eclectic professional life. I have a degree in Art History from the University of Michigan and then later I obtained a Bachelors Degree in Nursing. I have had many careers throughout my life. I was born in Detroit, but have lived in Traverse City for 23 years.
Art had woven its way into my life throughout but my love of paper is always a part of it. My medium is paper and glue. I love anything old: vintage magazines, antique books, old postage stamps and paper ephemera of all kinds. I mostly use a watercolor paper substrate for my pieces but I will also experiment with cardboard and old book covers.