sbpohlman
I’ve been working on a new mixed-media collage that juxtaposes the innocence and nostalgia of childhood with the panic and seemingly impending doom of the present culture in the US. Dark clouds form on the horizon of this golden landscape. Does the final paper airplane make it through or get stuck amongst the tree-branches?
Paper Planes Don’t Leave Chemtrails
16 x 16 in mixed media on paper
A twist of fate landed us unexpectedly at Sperlak Gallery and Sculpture Garden on our way home from the beach. It was enchanting!
My art is typically very colorful, but the lighting when we visited paired well with black and white photo. I was inspired to make a quick painting when we got back to weave those lively colors back in.
Art + nature + a little mystery. If you ever find yourself in South Jersey, it’s a gem.
I’m sharing a few process photos for a mixed media piece – there are so many layers that go into each work of art! “The ability to look deeply is the root of creativity. To see past the ordinary and mundane and get to what might otherwise be invisible.” – Rick Rubin
Springtime Goddesses
June 2024 – Mixed Media on Paper – 16 x 16 in / 20 x 20 in framed
I love every part of the creative process, but there is nothing more satisfying than hearing that voice telling you a piece is done. It’s not a literal voice, but some kind of cosmic knowing…that after all of the work, bursts of energy, tinkering, questioning, and magic…it’s reached it’s full potential. It is exactly what it was meant to be.
Peripheral Vision
Mixed Media
11 x 15 in
2022
The last 8 years of my life have marked a distinct shift in how I perceive time. Becoming a mother fills your heart with a love that is unlike any other while simultaneously shattering your perception of self. You become an entirely new person as a life giver and caretaker of other humans. Time simultaneously speeds up and slows down in remarkable ways. As one learns to let go of their former selves and metamorphosize into this new being, distinct yearnings arise. Over and over for me I was drawn to nature. It’s quiet restores my sanity in a hectic world. Its fresh scents and rushing wind fill my heart. It leaves me in awe of its small miracles and humbling expanses. The night sky, the ocean’s frothy waves, the unfurling fern and springy mosses. They are a spiritual symphony. They call me again and again when I have a small space of free time. These works were created over several years when I could escape to nature and create. They were collaged and painted over long stretches of time with months between the beginning and completion of many, because that was all of the free time I could afford. Each one felt like an epiphany – nature, art, spirituality, and stirrings of a new self still evolving.
These works are a sampling on many collaged and painted works on paper. Most of what visually reads as paint is actually decorative paper torn and collaged. The pieces are filled with texture when viewed in person.
From the top left:
Auburn Heights
Encaustic Paper Collage – 10 x 10 in – 2023 – $375
Ashland
Paper Collage – 10.5 x 10.5 in – 2021 – NFS
Planting Seeds by the Full Moon
Watercolor, Gouache, Ink – 20 x 20 in – 2021 – SOLD
Iris’s View
Mixed Paper Collage – 20 x 20 in – 2024 – $650
Mixed Media on Paper
2020
On display at Eiland Art Center in February 2021.
I have 2 paintings in the Four Corners Nature Exhibit at Eilandarts Center in Merchanville, NJ. The reception in Friday, May 4 2018 from 6-9. The work will be on display until May 31st. For more info, visit Eilandarts.com. Come check it out!
If I die tomorrow, sing to the moon.
9 x 12 in watercolor on paper – 2018 – $325
Sometimes I feel a lot like Oscar the Oyster – grumpy with the world, but trying my best to be patient, persistent, and always pushing for change.
The children’s book illustration project I’m working on with Author Noah Ginter is more than half way complete. I’m so grateful for snow days brimming with calm, productive creativity!
