About the Artist

Emilie Munsch- Artist Statement

 This current show is a collection of Collage, Linocut Block Prints and drawings from the Sketchbook.

Collaging is a tactile way of painting; applying papers, with matt medium and water, like finger paint. It was inspired by Landscape Quilts. The process has been a great way to explore symbol and metaphor through improvisation using recycled papers; tearing, cutting and rearranging them in a new way. It is a process of having a purposeful direction, yet enjoying the discovery of what is available in the moment. The collage becomes a beautiful new creation to share with others.

Working with the different papers is a challenge that encourage creative flexibility. There are different thickness, translucency, textures, reaction to the medium, and color fastness. To try to protect against fading over time these collage works are finished off with a UV resistant spray. I have created multilayered collages since 2015, and recycled imagery collages quite prolifically since 2010. These artworks still retain their vibrancy. 

 Membership and Affiliations:

Sebastopol Center for the Arts

Occidental Center to the Arts

Sonoma Collage group

Coastal Art League-Half Moon Bay

Pacific Art League-Palo Alto

Santa Rosa Art Center

Awards:

2023 Second Place Award: Swan, Pacific Art League, Annual Members Exhibition 

2022 Publicity Award: Pan, Occidental Center for the Arts Fantasy Exhibit

2022 Peoples Choice, Honorable Mention: SeaLion, Occidental Center for the Arts

2022 Publicity Award: Wild, Occidental Center for the Arts

2021 Peoples Choice Award: Deer, Occidental Center for the Arts

2019 Best of Show: Yellow Roses-Collage, Occidental Center for the Arts, Juried: Teri Sloat

2017 Merit Award: Salmon- Collage, Occidental Center for the Arts, Juried: Marylu Downing

2016 Favorite: Chicken and Snail-Block Print, Sebastopol Center for the Arts Printing Festival.

Featured Artist Shows:

Graton Gallery: Nov 2020

Open Door Studio: Nov 2019

Open Door Studio: May 2019

Viva Mexicana: April 2017

Viva Mexicana: April 2014

Emilie Munsch   - Artist background - The longer story:

I have been creating since I was young enough to finger paint and use my imagination to see images in the clouds. My experience has taught me how dreams and imagination are the seeds planted for creating a real life. 

I grew up in Silicon Valley when it was a semi-rural setting. My foot prints have always been in nature and home gardening. I was influenced by multiple generations of my family within a mixture of cultures. My creativity was highly encouraged and my circumstances provided me with a lucky and amazing education.

I was taught to make good use of the things I had, and creatively reuse things. When I was a young, I made peach pit rings on a grinder, and jewelry out wire. I designed my own flower power album covers in 1969 using collage and pastels. In high school I printed, and sold posters to friends. I made cast silver jewelry, pottery, quilts, and clay animation movies, along with the basic art education. I continued to study art well into college. I learned etching, print-making, jewelry making, figure drawing, oil painting, sculpture, stained glass, fused glass, glass bead making, ceramics, photography, design, art history, and child development in art. 

I got a degree and had a career in drafting in pursuit of “drawing” back in the day when it required pencil and paper. Then my career evolved with the technology; creatively working in Industrial Design, Technology, Aerospace and Medical Devices. On the side, I still pursued my avocation of education and making art.

Beginning in the 90’s, while raising children, I had a business making glass beads and jewelry for 12 years. I sold my jewelry at museum stores, galleries, art fairs, bead stores, and open studios. I demonstrated glass bead making to students at San Jose State’s glass blowing department in exchange for learning and participating in some glass projects.

With education in child development: I was hired as an art enrichment consultant, teaching art in the Cupertino school district to elementary aged children for 2 years.  I volunteered for 6 months in 2015 at the Sonoma County Children's Museum, in the art studio, while they were starting up and bringing on staff.

I love print making. I started when I was 13, thru to present time have participated as a volunteer and artist for the street printing fund raising event at the Sebastopol Art Center from its on-set.

Collaging has been a very interactive process as a form of expression. Just making-do with the materials at hand creates a challenge to me that I enjoy. What I create at the end is often quite a surprise to me. There is only a loose plan at the beginning. And sometimes no plan at all. And then the materials take over and start telling a story. I am the integrator and collaborator to work it until it makes something that pleases me.

Living now in Sonoma County, I enjoy the process of  Art making as a deconstructive, transformational and reconstructive process. I am so completely amazed what comes from nothingness to something tangible and beautiful by the use of my creativity and a muse.