There are so many things I have done over the years: carved statues and made furniture for churches as a business with my husband Bjorn ; had exhibitions in galleries and museums; made public art pieces; written a book of poetry and dabbled in photography. Recently I have left sculpture for a while to pursue painting but I can't really predict what will come next. Here is a kind of overview in the form of a slide show.
WHAT'S NEW?
Right now I am just painting every day and trying to see things with new eyes. I am inviting figures and images into my paintings and looking for more content. I want to make paintings that inspire me to write stories. Here are two of my most recent paintings.
Right now I am just painting every day and trying to see things with new eyes. I am inviting figures and images into my paintings and looking for more content. I want to make paintings that inspire me to write stories. Here are two of my most recent paintings.
The Wrong Words
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Falling in Step
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BIOGRAPHY
My father was a toy designer and I was encouraged to indulge my imagination. I earned a BFA in sculpture from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from the University of Illinois. I have had many teachers. I have learned about clarity from the Buddhists, fierce joy from the Sufis, magical holiness from Christian Mystics and life energy from Taoist TaiChi. The main influence in my life and work, however, is my ongoing relationship with nature; with birds, animals, insects, clouds, stars, microbes and especially trees. I have spent most of my life carving wood and feel a strong kinship with trees.
I have enjoyed traveling in Europe, Africa and Asia and lived in Sweden for a year with my husband, Bjorn. In Florida we had a company called Andren & Knapp ( http://www.andoknap.com ) in which we designed and produced furniture and statues for churches. We also worked together on Public Art commissions. All the pictures on this site were taken by Bjorn Andren. He is a gifted photographer.
( http://www.bjornandren.com )
I have done installations at the Brevard Art Museum, Florida Museum for Women Artists, Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St Petersburg, the Morean Art Center and Mt Dora Center for the Arts and sometimes included composed background sounds as part of the work. My work is in the permanent collection of the Miaoli Wood Sculpture Museum in Sanyi, Taiwan (where I was invited to have a show in 2007) and also in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis TN. Lately I have been painting .
My father was a toy designer and I was encouraged to indulge my imagination. I earned a BFA in sculpture from the Cleveland Institute of Art and an MFA from the University of Illinois. I have had many teachers. I have learned about clarity from the Buddhists, fierce joy from the Sufis, magical holiness from Christian Mystics and life energy from Taoist TaiChi. The main influence in my life and work, however, is my ongoing relationship with nature; with birds, animals, insects, clouds, stars, microbes and especially trees. I have spent most of my life carving wood and feel a strong kinship with trees.
I have enjoyed traveling in Europe, Africa and Asia and lived in Sweden for a year with my husband, Bjorn. In Florida we had a company called Andren & Knapp ( http://www.andoknap.com ) in which we designed and produced furniture and statues for churches. We also worked together on Public Art commissions. All the pictures on this site were taken by Bjorn Andren. He is a gifted photographer.
( http://www.bjornandren.com )
I have done installations at the Brevard Art Museum, Florida Museum for Women Artists, Florida Craftsmen Gallery in St Petersburg, the Morean Art Center and Mt Dora Center for the Arts and sometimes included composed background sounds as part of the work. My work is in the permanent collection of the Miaoli Wood Sculpture Museum in Sanyi, Taiwan (where I was invited to have a show in 2007) and also in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art in Memphis TN. Lately I have been painting .
RESUME
COLLECTIONS
Miaoli Wood Sculpture Museum, Sanyi, Taiwan ( 5 sculptures in the permanent collection)
TungHai University, TaiChung, Taiwan (“Flight of Mother Theresa”)
Tampa General Hospital (“Collected Memory”)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN, ("Tango Solo")
The Ameriway Bank, Houston, TX, ("The Enfoldment")
The Mobile Oil Corporation, Stockholm, Sweden, ("Three Sisters")
The Northwood Institute.Collection, West Palm Beach, FL (“Wind in the Trees”)
HageGården Music Center, Edane, Sweden, ("Nyutsprungen")
City of Tampa, FL (“Underwater Ballet” and “Sunlight on the Lake”)
Tampa Water Dept., Tampa, FL “The Waterbearers” (bronze fountain )
All Children’s Hospital, St Petersburg FL ( “Daydreamers” 12 mobiles for the emergency room)
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
City of St. Petersburg, FL, "The Enchanted Mangrove Forest", (Central Avenue) 1995
Hillsborough County, FL (Pavilion Floor and History Walk , Courthouse Square, downtown Tampa)
Hillsborough County, FL (“Litigation” sculpture, County Courthouse)
City of St Petersburg, FL (“The Happy Town Players” nine large sculptures at the Main Library)
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, 1974,
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture ,The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1971 ,
Awarded “Helen Green Perry Traveling Scholarship” , traveled through Europe and West Africa
(across the Sahara) looking at art and people.
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine. Summer, 1969 , Full Scholarship.
COLLECTIONS
Miaoli Wood Sculpture Museum, Sanyi, Taiwan ( 5 sculptures in the permanent collection)
TungHai University, TaiChung, Taiwan (“Flight of Mother Theresa”)
Tampa General Hospital (“Collected Memory”)
Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, TN, ("Tango Solo")
The Ameriway Bank, Houston, TX, ("The Enfoldment")
The Mobile Oil Corporation, Stockholm, Sweden, ("Three Sisters")
The Northwood Institute.Collection, West Palm Beach, FL (“Wind in the Trees”)
HageGården Music Center, Edane, Sweden, ("Nyutsprungen")
City of Tampa, FL (“Underwater Ballet” and “Sunlight on the Lake”)
Tampa Water Dept., Tampa, FL “The Waterbearers” (bronze fountain )
All Children’s Hospital, St Petersburg FL ( “Daydreamers” 12 mobiles for the emergency room)
PUBLIC ART COMMISSIONS
City of St. Petersburg, FL, "The Enchanted Mangrove Forest", (Central Avenue) 1995
Hillsborough County, FL (Pavilion Floor and History Walk , Courthouse Square, downtown Tampa)
Hillsborough County, FL (“Litigation” sculpture, County Courthouse)
City of St Petersburg, FL (“The Happy Town Players” nine large sculptures at the Main Library)
EDUCATION
Master of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture, University of Illinois, Champaign, IL, 1974,
Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture ,The Cleveland Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH, 1971 ,
Awarded “Helen Green Perry Traveling Scholarship” , traveled through Europe and West Africa
(across the Sahara) looking at art and people.
Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Skowhegan, Maine. Summer, 1969 , Full Scholarship.