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Illustration: Karen Stiehl Osborn. Midpoint . The mixed media artist Karen Stiehl Osborn works in a range of mediums with a large selection of raw materials that can include canvas, cheesecloth, string, paper, paint, ink, dyes and threads, many of which can and are included within the same composition. This broad use of mediums, materials and working practice is at the heart of mixed media itself. By its very nature a mixed media artist is one that can take a fairly wide-spectrumed view of both the world around them and the creative aspect in particular. Layering and juxtapositioning of complementary and often conflicting materials and subjects become familiar and creatively inspiring. This is the case with the work of Stiehl Osborn who has taken the natural tendencies of mixed media to a level that she has made her own. Illustration: Karen Stiehl Osborn. Delmar #5 to 15 . In a series of compositional explorations, the artist has investigated, through her wide-ranging materials base, t...

Illustration: Judith Plotner. Adirondack Journal I. Many creative journeys are supremely private; others less so, many are degrees in between. The work of textile and mixed media artist Judith Plotner, although largely falling into the former category, can still be considered purely as an example of the rich world that can be composed from the elements that go to make up a mixed media base. Illustration: Judith Plotner. Slate Valley. Plotner uses the broad spectrum of the creative arts, bringing into her compositions the sensibilities of a fine art painting background, as well as that of printmaking, collage and textiles. The great strength of mixed media is the fact that layering and juxtapositioning can be achieved not only with the raw materials available within the different mediums, but also with that of mediums themselves. It is always fascinating to observe how sometimes a medium can complement another, while at other times the opposite can be both the aim and result. This can c...

Illustration: Marlene Cohen. Healing. Marlene Cohen is a British textile artist that has taken her own strong and contemporary attitude towards her chosen medium, and created a distinctive style of composition and layering that is entirely her own. Cohen uses both printmaking and fine art disciplines, along with the usual aspects of textile work such as layering and stitching, to produce work that although technically part of the quilt medium, has managed to stretch that medium farther than most. Although Cohen works in a wide range of colours, tones and textures, I have chosen instead to concentrate on a series of pieces that she has produced in a much lower and much more minimal colour scheme. Shoah is a series of pieces that, although seemingly stark and severe, are in fact full of the most astounding build up of imagery and text that is strong in graphic, illustrative and fine art techniques. Illustration: Marlene Cohen. Target Zero. These pieces, to my mind at least, seem to have...