CONNECTICUT, USA
Sheila Margaret Mullen says about her process, “Not much is meaningless in my work, and balance and form are critical. I love structuring and playing with the menagerie of the collage medium, and the hardest part often is deciding how to stop work on a piece (I usually simplify from the original multi-layered design). That is where I try to find a balance between the meaningful and deliberate detail when viewing up-close, with the visual impact when taking a few steps back.”
Originally from New Jersey, and now living in Connecticut, Sheila says that her path to collage has been more of a muddy, cracked and potholed MC Escher-esque road, with formal education and experience mainly in the architectural field (drafting, presentation and model-making). She had her first solo collage show, “Structured Chaos”, at The Buttonwood Tree in Middletown, Connecticut in April 2014.
You can see more of Sheila’s work on her Kolaj Magazine Artist Directory page and on her website.
An Artist Portfolio about Sheila Margaret Mullen appeared in Issue Nine. This is some of what Kolaj contributor Ariane Fairlie had to say:
Sheila Margaret Mullen’s collages feel like maps through time; filmstrip train tracks and fields of handwritten letters fill her nostalgic territories. They are joyful explorations of fantastic lands that exist in a reimagined history of discarded objects…Mullen’s presentation is delightfully reminiscent of the Bristol boards children use in grade school. Every piece is placed with so much care and bestowed such precious value.
To see all of Sheila Margaret Mullen’s Artist Portfolio, purchase Issue Nine or SUBSCRIBE to never miss an issue.
Image:
Go Tokyo Via Movieland
by Sheila Margaret Mullen
18″x24″
1948 Chinese handwritten postcard from occupied Japan, 1965 map of the Japanese National Railway in Tokyo (printed in Switzerland), 1930s Japanese ketchup advertisement, 1930s Hotel Imperial Tokyo luggage label, 1890s stereoview card Iris Garden Tokyo, 1950s Santa Ana, California Japanese Deer Park brochure, 1959 brochure for the Japanese film industry, 1942 handwritten letter, 1940s or ‘50s View-Master slide, 1960s Air Mail stationary Nikkatsu Hotel, Tokyo, 1966 LIFE magazine ads for TV dinner, hotdogs and car, 1890s to 1980s Japanese stamps, vintage: stereoscope card Asakusa Park Gardens, Tokyo, Mahjong coins, Mahjong tiles, New York Times microfiche, pocket watch face, watch parts, earrings, buttons, tins (3), tiny bottle, Monopoly pieces, and Made in Japan tiny metal bus label, and newer: dice
2014