Margot Behsman

Writing about oneself is both a challenge and daunting task. Briefly I will try to tell a little about myself, however. I have been doing some form of art work since I was 5 years old. I remember when I was ten years old and all I wanted for Christmas was the John Gnaggy drawing set. I got it, and promptly presented everyone with these wonderful charcoal drawings that I did all by myself. My parents were very good to me and tried to help and encourage me in anything that I wanted to pursue, but our High School did not have much of an Art program, so it really wasn’t until I went back to College as an older than average student (married with two children) to obtain a BFA and an MFA (graduating Magna cum Lauda in Both) in Printmaking and Drawing. My Background includes several classes in clay, various printmaking techniques, painting, fibers, and Jewelry , along with a extensive background in Art History.. I also taught Drawing and Painting at the University of North Dakota and Fashion Illustration at the University of Minnesota.

Shortly after graduation I started a wearable Art Jewelry business that was very successful with representation in several states. The jewelry was based on Egyptian and Middle Eastern influences. I used bronze and sterling silver and copper with semi precious stones.. I developed a metal technique that was very different and looked very ancient. About a decade ago, the wearable art jewelry lost favor in the high end boutiques and small art galleries ,due to a down turn in the economy. At that time I entered the painted furniture and small objects d’art business. I designed the furniture and painted it…. I enjoyed a modicum of success with appearances on the covers of two national magazines.

About 4 years ago my diabetes started to limit the long hours of painting. It forced me to think of other ways to express myself.

Finally, I came full circle to really begin utilizing my drawing skills and work with two and three dimensional items such as tags, original art stamps, boxes collages and various mixed media. I can still incorporate metal and beads into the mixed media works.

My love of Renaissance art continues to push me in a disciplined direction of expression. I am still confounded and amazed at the creative talents of such artists as Giotto, Cimabue, Andrea da Firenze, Gentile da Fabriano, Masaccio, Flippino Lippi, Fra Angelico Sandro Botticelli, Verrocchio, Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Ghirlandaio, Michelangelo, Bronzino and Francesco Salviati.. So Renaissance Art is what at this time inspires me. The collages and boxes that I have done for this article contain items of the Renaissance.

I have always liked to work in a series, and will try to exhaust one stream of expression before moving on to another. Later, I may return to a former inspirational imagery for development of a new visual pathway. But one of my professors early in my collage classes encouraged us to develop by using series as a mature way to proceed with any imagery. It changed my whole way of thinking of imagery and using it to get the most out of it . . .