Paige Dirksen is a printmaker and muralist residing in Bella Vista, AR, where she lives with her husband and two children. She grew up in Iowa and earned a BA in Studio Art/Psychology from the University of Northern Iowa and an MA in Art Therapy Counseling from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Paige primarily works with woodcuts and other forms of printmaking, but enjoys exploring different media as well. 

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I am a printmaker with a background in art therapy and a passion for community arts. Printmaking, particularly woodcut printing, has always been meditative for me and I really enjoy sharing this process with others. I am

confident in my conviction that art is a fundamental and successful tool for self-discovery and achievement.  I view this creative process as an essential part of my life, and am constantly thinking about the psychological aspects of the creative process.

 

My botanical series has proven to be the perfect process for my own style of working. I enjoy every step of these pieces - from learning about and taking photographs of the plants, to finding the right composition, to carving the wood, then what is probably the most satisfying of any of the steps - printing. I am really interested in the tradition we assign to flora and hearing what plants my viewers connect with most is what gives the work significance. 

 

My most recent body of work explores minimal design using geometric and organic shapes, printed from wood and linoleum blocks that I carve myself. I enjoy designing compositions that explore and hold space for tension between these shapes, and love working with abstract designs to see how the viewer's own life history informs their experience with the work. I'm especially interested in how people attach nostalgia to different textiles and would like to further explore block printing on textiles and designing quilts from these printed pieces.

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