My love for art began more than 5 decades ago. As I child, I was given a Kodak Brownie camera and began discovering the world. As a result of that gift and the influence of an artist mother I became an artist and later an art teacher. A rewarding 25 years were spent mentoring and guiding high school and college students in the visual arts.
While working as a teacher, I began to focus my personal art to papermaking and multi-media collage. As a result of my own classroom needs as a teacher, I designed Deckle2-Go, a vastly superior long-lasting polycarbonate deckle box, frame, and mould for making sheets of paper.
Now, as a retired teacher, I am delving into ways of combining my love of nature, with collage in papermaking. Stimulated by the textures, forms and perspective to me that is nature. I enjoy uniting them into works of art.
I use art as therapy, a respite from bouts of my own depression, and exploring how mental illness has affected my family. I have completed an exhibit of 30 works of art reflecting my reflections, frustrations, growth, as well as solitude. www.amothersjourney.net. These things have given me a goal/mission in to break the silence and stigma of mental illness in our world. It is my way of advocating for my sons and others who suffer from paranoid schizophrenia
My dream is be to have this exhibit travel around the country and speak about stigma, open conversations, and encourage people the importance of learning about and treating mental illness.
Maxine Seelenbinder-Apke