Artist Statement:

You can bet that whatever is happening in my life shows up in my artwork.  I have felt compelled to create art since childhood.  Beginning with drawing and painting, I have explored many different media throughout my art education and art teaching career.  During my twenty four years as a public school art teacher, I watched students produce art spontaneously and without inhibition.  I try to approach my own work with equal vigor.  After thirty years of backpacking and vacationing in the Rocky Mountains, I’m now living the dream of making my home here in Durango.

I begin collages with strong emotions about the subject matter.  Mixed media collage combined with acrylic paint allows me to express these feelings most naturally.  First, I use an array of media to draw and paint on various watercolor papers.  Then, I combine these painted watercolor papers with textures and colors that I choose from handmade papers.  I continue to invent new ways to create the effects I want for a collage.  The final piece is a result of interconnecting the collage process with acrylic painting.

Bio:

Cheryl Berglund has been making art for as long as she can remember.  Her professional training includes a B.A. from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, a B.F.A. from Seton Hill College, and M.A. from Central Michigan University.  After a twenty four year career as a public school art teacher, she moved to Durango in 2006, and has focused on creating unique mixed media collages since then.

Since moving to Durango, Cheryl has participated in many juried shows, including the Annual Juried Durango Arts Center show, and has exhibited at various Four-Corners area galleries.  Locally, she was featured along with two other artists, Marikay Shellman and Sandy Applegate, in a group exhibit called “3 Degrees of Abstraction” at the Durango Arts Center in 2010, and she had a one person show at the Lost Dog in Durango in August 2012. An award winning artist, she won a Best Use of Medium Award at the Durango Arts Center member exhibit in 2011, an Honorable Mention award in the 2013 Annual Juried Art Show at the Durango Arts Center and an Honorable Mention award in the 2017 Durango Arts Center member exhibit.

Cheryl’s art is inspired by the mountain environment where she lives.  Her subject matter includes the birds, trees, wildflowers and mountains of the southwest. Her mixed media collages are an interesting combination of abstract design and recognizable images, incorporating acrylic paint, hand-made paper, and natural materials.   The closer you get to her work, the more intrigued you are by the interplay of color, shape, and texture.