my new studio: a picnic table in the park.

my new studio: a picnic table in the park., originally uploaded by pejnolan.

Tree Fungus

Tree Fungus drawing being glued to board with rice paste, originally uploaded by pejnolan.

I have two careers. One as a graphic designer and the other as a fine art print maker. The day job has taken priority for the last several months, but that has only given me time to decide what direction I want to go in regarding prints.

I started this adventure in 2006 with a group of friends called "The Makers." We met every week or so to cheer one another on, give critiques and suggestions, go on field trips together and basically just be there for one another artistically. That year was one of searching. I was doing pen and ink, acrylic, oils, graphite, pastel. Then, through the group and through my brother, I fell in love with woodblock prints.

The following year was playing with the possibilities. My work grew in complexity and skill.

Then I started selling work on Etsy, entering shows and becoming much more serious. It was becoming less of a hobby and more a part of me. I started the business, PEJ Nolan Studios in 2010 because I had finally found my passion. This is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life: I wanted to explore my personal relationship to nature and the revelations I received from observing it.

At the end of that year, a life-long goal was achieved. I was welcomed into Plum Bottom Pottery's gallery in Door County, Wisconsin. Since I was a little girl, I dreamed of seeing my work hanging in Door County.

The idea of not pleasing myself, but working toward the tastes of clients altered the make-up of the work. It became less about my personal relationship with the energy and spirit of the natural world and more about specific things: a chick, a squirrel, etc. So, I had to go back to the beginning and find my voice.

The upcoming work is more abstract. It shows more purely the energy, movement, composition and linework of the objects I see. It is less about the accurate depiction of an object and more about emotion. I'm really proud to see this type of growth in my work. I'm working larger as well, so it is more environmental. It fills the viewer's peripheral vision similar to a landscape. My goal is for the viewer to see what I see, feel what I feel, and be humbled by the complexity and beauty of nature. 

Let me know what you think about the new direction and about past pieces.