About the Artist

Marcia Conlon is a multi-media collage artist from Traverse City, Michigan, USA. She works primarily in various forms of paper: vintage magazines, antique books, maps, cardboard and other paper ephemera she picks up along the way. She also creates her own papers using acrylic paint and gesso. Marcia has a BA in Art History from the University of Michigan but has mostly self-taught various art mediums. In addition to collage work, Marcia is also a jewelry designer specializing in vintage paper and resin.

How women are represented in the media and their roles in society is what inspires Marcia’s primary work. She is also inspired by the natural beauty or Northern Michigan where she lives by the bay.

About Artist’s Work:

Collage is a medium that I have discovered fairly recently. Once I started experimenting with it I realized how much it resonated with me. It’s a medium that is drawn forth by a deep hidden intuition. I believe my best work comes when I turn my mind off and work from pure instinct and emotion. My inspiration comes from the juxtaposition of femininity, the sublime, and traditional images of women in the media against the gritty reality of life.

I like working with materials that are a little rough, grungy, maybe a little dirty. I juxtapose very feminine images of woman from vintage magazines or antique photos next to found material like cardboard, vintage paper and deconstructed book pages.

I have been drawn to artistic practices most of my life, even though I have had an eclectic professional life. I have a degree in Art History from the University of Michigan and then later I obtained a Bachelors Degree in Nursing. I have had many careers throughout my life. I was born in Detroit, but have lived in Traverse City for 23 years.

Art had woven its way into my life throughout but my love of paper is always a part of it. My medium is paper and glue. I love anything old: vintage magazines, antique books, old postage stamps and paper ephemera of all kinds. I mostly use a watercolor paper substrate for my pieces but I will also experiment with cardboard and old book covers.

What does “Home” mean to you: 

Home to me means comfort, safety, a refuge. It also leads me to think of “home-maker”. I’m always curious about exploring the idea of “traditional” notion of homemaking in my art. Traditional homemaking is the source for many of the stereotypes we have of feminist and womanhood: caretaker, nurturer, household manager. I take images I see in vintage magazines of traditional homemakers and juxtapose them with something a little messy and a little dirty.

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