Murray State's Digital Commons

Collection Title

Art399 Portfolio

Author/Artist Name

Laurie SnellenFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Spring 2023

Artist Statement

Since beginning my journey as an artist, my muse has been found in nature and environmentalism. Natural imagery and symbolism can be used to invoke a viewer's interest and curiosity. Mine focuses on invasive and native plant species as a lens for both environmental and social concerns. Through observation and extensive research my content and imagery take form in lithographs and screenprints.

Most recently, I explored the relationship between the biodiversity crisis and songbirds, focusing on rural areas and attitudes toward this issue. Using plant imagery that are integral parts of the issue combined with manufactured effects such as glitching overlays on the birds the concept takes form. This implies an artificial "glitch" in the environment, such as when you take information out of a digital image's code during the databending process. I am using common, relatively well-known birds such as Meadowlarks or Bobwhites that are usually identifiable to someone living in a rural community and allude to environmental issues already affecting those communities more than they realize.

Similarly to artist Marilee Salvator, my work is very heavily influenced by extensive research and fact checking. Art like mine should be backed by factual evidence to strengthen its message and prevent the spread of false information. Of course that doesn’t mean it should read like an encyclopedia. Intense value shifts with pops of vibrant hues of color can create very breathtaking imagery. My linework and composition could be comparable to artist Jenny McCabe’s, although I do prefer to add more vibrant, less natural hues to shine line on human intervention in nature. Compositionally, it should be clear when two elements of a piece oppose each other as often is the case in my work.

Advisor/Mentor

Nicole Hand-Bryant; Mike Martin; Danielle Muzina; Woody Leslie

Description

My artwork uses natural concepts and forms to create my imagery the conveys my ideas. I most often focus on invasive and native species of north America and the effects human interactions can have, both positive and negative. Sometimes, as seen in series of reproductive rights works of 2022, I use those natural imagery to convey other more personal meanings close to my heart.

It is my goal to use printmaking to encourage changes in peoples behaviors that will benefit the world around us in a positive and long lasting way. Most of my works are prints on archival stonehenge paper although I have done works in oil painting on canvas and artist books as well a mixed media work using a laser cutter.

Photo Credit

Laurie Snellen

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License

Recommended Citation

Snellen, Laurie, "Art399 Portfolio" (2023). Professional Practices (ART 399). 140.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art399/140