Pamela Marquette O’Krent

 

 

Art is my great passion that began when I was a young girl growing up in northern, rural Minnesota.  My first interest was sewing.  I created dresses for my dolls when I was five years old, and later designed clothing for myself.  My first collage was made using birch bark, moss, leaves, pinecones and sand when I was eight.  Years later, I graduated from The University of Minnesota-Duluth with a BFA and teacher’s certification.  I moved to Dallas in 1987 and began my 20-year ongoing career of teaching art to small children.  Being an educator has greatly inspired me and been a perfect marriage of my interests as an artist and the adventures of teaching.

 

As an artist, I began to explore other mediums and materials.  I began to incorporate the things I loved (fabric, paper, and found objects) into collages, and used sewing as a means of permanently attaching everything together.  Recently, stitching has surpassed its functional nature and has become a textural element in my work.  I’m attracted to the visual appeal of stitching and enjoy using it in an unconventional way, such as sewing on paper.

                                                         

Printmaking has been an area of focus for many years, specifically monoprints.   My latest works involve the use of everyday objects.  I love the simplicity of ordinary objects and am attracted to their shapes.  I am also drawn to the shapes and patterns found in fruits and vegetables.  I enjoy using their organic shapes in juxtaposition with basic shapes like circles and squares. These objects are inked and printed onto paper to create layers of both expected and unexpected patterns.  Using fabric, photo transfers, clothing labels, and monoprints adds another dimension to the flat nature of printing.  Sometimes I think of my work as small autobiographies, collections from my everyday life that get compiled into neat, little chapters called art.

 

Education

 

University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN – BFA with Teaching Certification K-12.  1980-1984

 

Teaching Experience

 

The Lamplighter School – Teach Preschool-4th art; develop curriculum emphasizing aesthetic growth, technical skills, art appreciation, and art history with interdisciplinary and cultural integration; developed and coordinated the ‘Preschool to Picasso’ program featuring professional art exhibited for viewing and education; developed art committee for faculty growth in art education; design and install rotating displays of students’ work. 1990-present.

 

Voyager Expanded Learning – Developed curriculum and conducted teacher training for Kaleidoscope Arts Program.  1995

 

Fun Ventures – Developed and taught summer classes at The Lamplighter School.  1993-1996

 

Dean Learning Center – Art teacher grades K-8; developed art curriculum for children with learning differences; created instructional murals with students; designed art exhibits of students’ work.  1987-1989

 

Exhibitions

 

Solo exhibits:               Findings, The Lamplighter School, Dallas TX  2003

                                   

Exploring Monotypes, The Lamplighter School, Dallas TX  2000

                                   

Senior Art Exhibit, University of Minnesota, Duluth MN  1984

 

Group exhibits:                        Have a Seat,  Faculty show, The Lamplighter School, Dallas TX  2001

                                   

Dallas Soars featuring Pegasus sculptures, Dallas, TX  2001

                                   

Texas Visual Arts Association, Dallas, TX  2000

                                   

Richardson Civic Art Society, Richardson, TX  2000

                                   

Book Gallery, Dallas, TX  1992

                                   

Haute Cliff, Bishop Arts District, Dallas, TX  1990

                                   

Boxcar Museum, Emerson Artplex, Duluth, MN  1988

 

 

Awards

 

Richardson Civic Art Society Juried Show – 3rd place, Richardson, TX  2000

 

Faculty of the Year Award – The Lamplighter School, Dallas, TX  1996

 

Teacher of the Year Award – The Lamplighter School, Dallas, TX  1995

 

Blue Ribbon School Nomination – The Lamplighter School, Dallas, TX  1993

 

American Heart Association Student Billboard Contest – 1st place.  Dean Learning Center, Dallas  TX  1988

 

Private School Invitational Juried Art Exhibit, grades 5-8.  Student awards included 1st place, 4th place, honorable mention, Purchase Award from Art About Town, Dean Learning Center, Dallas  TX  1987-1989

 

Selected for Juried Exhibits, Tweed Museum of Art.  Faculty Merit Award.  Duluth, MN  1982-1984

 

Continuing Education

 

Art-In-Amsterdam, Pat Mattingly Grant recipient, Amsterdam, The Netherlands  2006

 

Painting with Encaustics Workshop, Santa Fe, NM  2006

 

National Art Education Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL  2006

 

Printmaking Workshop: Beyond Monotypes, College of Santa Fe, NM  2002

 

Visual Thinking Strategies, Santa Fe, NM  2002

 

National Art Education Association Annual Conference, New York City, NY  2001

 

Printmaking Workshop: Exploring Monotypes, College of Santa Fe, NM  2000

 

Tres Culturas and the Visual Language of Art, Santa Fe, NM  1997

 

National Seminar for the Experienced Pro – National Association of Independent Schools, Philadelphia, PA  1997

 

Ceramics, University of Dallas, TX  1992, 1993

Collage, Painting, University of Texas at Dallas, TX  1989