Peggy L. Burchard-Ballard

Peggy L. Burchard-Ballard
Quincy, Illinois

STATEMENT

I am fortunate to have a studio that allows me room to accumulate and easily access books and magazines that I have been collecting for over ten years. My book collection consists of anatomy, child rearing, bug, bird, and other miscellaneous books from the 1920-1950 era. I have multiple copies of National Geographic magazines from 1928-1960 along with a healthy collection of Pageant, Look and Life magazines, maps, catalogs and other imagery. My strongest attraction is to post WWII ephemera. It is not unusual for people to drop items at my doorstep; some are unaware of how they are used and see me as an eccentric collector.

I experience collage as a form of therapy, the process allows me to work through fears, anxiety and anger. My more recent imagery is directed by social, political issues and by my experience living in the Midwest USA. With some of the colleges the message is overt and easily recognized; other collages are more obscure or may have a more personal expression in the imagery. Many times, there is a humorous element allowing the viewer to find amusement in a serious matter.

All my collages are analog; I use cuticle scissors and surgical blades to cut most elements. I usually keep favorite images on my drawing board with the goal of utilizing them in the next group of colleges. It is not unusual for some elements to sit for a year or more. Everything is attached with gel medium to 100% rag paper and put under pressure to flatten before photographing and framing.

Collage allows the juxtaposition of elements that are in conflict with what we know is truth. This conflict forces a revaluation of what is being presented in the artwork, whether it is obvious or obscure.

BIO

Peggy Burchard-Ballard’s collages come from years of acquiring old books, magazines, and abandoned family photos found at flea markets and antique stores. Additional elements come from personal photographs and copyright free images. She uses original images, reproductions, gel transfers, a good collection of paint, glue, and several pairs of sharp scissor as everything is cut by hand. The collages are part process and part play. What does not work in one piece usually finds a home in another.

Ballard earned her BFA in printmaking from the University of North Texas where her focus was in intaglio printmaking. She received her MA in Art Therapy Counseling from the University of Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. She worked as an art therapist until 2015, when she left a career in counseling. Ballard’s diverse background in art mediums is reflective in her collages and paintings.

Ballard has won awards for her prints and collages in Texas, Florida, and in the Missouri–Illinois region, including an honorable mention at the 2015 Mary S. Oakley and Lee Lindsay Artists Showcase. In 2017 and 2018, she won the Father Tom Brown Award at Quincy’s downtown Q-Fest. In 2019, she won an Award of Excellence at Q-Fest. Her work is been exhibited throughout the United States and is in private and community collections in Florida, Texas, Maryland, New York and other states.

She previously taught printmaking through Arts = Education and at the Quincy Art Center. She is a past adjunct professor at John Wood Community College. Currently she works as an adjunct professor at Quincy University and at Culver Stockton College. Ballard is a transplanted Mid-Westerner having arrived from Texas to Kansas City, Missouri in the early 1990’s. In 1999 she moved to Quincy, Illinois where she currently resides with her husband and youngest son in a big old house with two small dogs. Her studio occupies the former third floor ballroom.

ARTIST CONTACT

[click to email]
www.plbballard.com

IMAGES