"Shield for the Ancestors' Stories" Collage

Crystal Marie seeks to create a dialogue around the issues of self worth, identity, and the perception of human value through the use of salvaged and found objects, old books, packaging material, and the every day detritus normally viewed as trash. She sees these items as a metaphor for our lives and seeks to bring them together in a way that opens the viewer to a deeper experience of an overarching theme of personal redemption – where every part of who you are is embraced and nurtured as important to the whole. Whether rendered in a 3-dimensional assemblage fashion, or a 2D picture plane, her fascination begins with found papers. She calls her process intuitive, but it all boils down to learning to trust and open herself to the voice inside; the one that can guide creative decisions and bring about a much richer work of art.

Crystal is the 2018 recipient of the RAM Artist Fellowship, with a featured solo show at the Wustum Museum of Fine Arts in August of 2019. Her work is represented in Seattle, Scottsdale, and Chicago and will be represented at SOFA EXPO Chicago in the Fall of 2018. Crystal has authored a book on the art of collage, teaches workshops nationwide, and seeks to educate and elevate the perception of collage as a fine art medium.