Connie is an artist living in Chicago whose practice focuses on printmaking, drawing and mixed-media installations. Growing up surrounded by various types of creative family members, she has been interested in the arts since a very young age. Born in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Connie earned her BA in Painting from the University of Wisconsin-Parkside. After working as a graphic designer and continuing to develop skills in printmaking for five years, Connie decided to pursue her MFA in Printmaking at Ohio University. While in graduate school, she attended two month-long study abroad programs in the United Kingdom and in Italy.

Since receiving her MFA, she has taught both college level and community courses in Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Ohio and currently works as a Department of Art & Architecture College Lab Assistant II at Harold Washington College.
Connie has exhibited her work internationally in solo, invitational and juried exhibitions throughout her career including places such as Brazil, Portugal, England, Russia, Italy and China. She has received national awards for works in printmaking exhibitions and participated in a residency at the Vermont Studio Center. She also has art and site-specific commissions in numerous collections including the Racine Art Museum, Janet Turner Print Museum, the Ekaterinburg Museum of Art, Sheldon Landy, Penny Brown, Northwestern Medicine and many universities. Connie is an active member in the Chicago Printer’s Guild, the International Mezzotint Society, Mid-America Print Council and Southern Graphics International.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

In my time outdoors, I am inspired by the subtleties, colors and textures in natural environments that typically go unnoticed. The resulting art becomes a response to getting lost in the complexity that nature presents. Organic shapes and tonal structures transform these realities into obscured identities through abstraction and enlargement in my work. My current body of work is an extension of the tranquility that I found spending time under blooming cherry blossom trees. The time that I spent sitting under those trees made me realize that the true experience I want my viewers to obtain when encountering my work is one of peace. Subtleties in shape and color with a feeling of immersion in my works promote a similar response to the one I feel in nature.