Art Bio

Dawn’s Art Journey

Having been starstruck by collage in my mid 20’s, after seeing a collage as a catalogue cover, I’ve been exploring it ever since. It started when I was working at a book store in Vancouver, and began playing with an ever growing collection of amazing imagery I collected while working there. Some of my early works were exploring spiritual themes or humorous and playful commentary on the human condition.

I dabbled in art trading cards (ATCs), where I started working for the first time on a smaller scale, building layered compositions on the back of playing cards. After participating in the Richmond Art Gallery’s ATC exhibit, my collaging grew into a deeper practice.

Later, I discovered an author who was using collage to explore the deeper meaning behind the images chosen. Seena Frost, a retired psychologist, developed this wonderful way to create collages so we could interpret their meaning for person growth and healing. I was grateful to discover this delightfully powerful tool for self exploration, and have been making these SoulCollage cards ever since, and using them for personal readings.

Current works incorporate torn papers and vintage imagery, including family photos and ephemera, exploring the world of women in the world, what makes art meaningful, and playing with the norms that we live under in society.

Mandalas have also been a through-thread along the way. I started co creating mandalas with friends and found great joy in exploring mark making this way. My own process blossomed and I still make mandalas regularly after many years, I never tire of the medium.

I work freehand on found and handmade papers, particularly in medium to darker shades, and using florescent, neon and glitter pens.