finished collage size: 18" wide x 18" tall
This collage has been fascinating, challenging and educational. I researched space from the perspective of the Hubble telescope and learned a great deal about the colors, shapes, forms and layers that create views in space.
The work celebrates a granddaughter's graduation from an Ivy League university. (Her grandparents commissioned this work in her honor.)
The word "journey" in the title was selected to reflect the graduate's travel from this point forward and the movement through space that the collage suggests. There is no beginning or end...only the journey itself.
finished collage size: 18" wide x 18" tall
Cosmic Journey
Gallery of Work
Jean Sandrock's works may be seen in private collections across the United States and around the world.
Hover your cursor over
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to read more about the work.
Graber Pond
This work was inspired from clients' photographs of Graber Pond and their love of the beauty behind their home. Whether observing from their deck, walking through the area or viewing the changing seasons, this scene holds a place in their heart. This collage was created as a collective memory of this special place.
Additionally, beautiful papers from around the world were gathered to create this work. Some of the papers used include: Mulberry from Thailand, Amate Bark from Mexico (trees), Japanese Ogura Lace (green), Venetian Hand Marbled papers (trees/foliage), Thai hand painted Unryu (sky), pearlescent green sheen fine spun fibers (large tree), Jute fiber paper from Bangladesh, Thai Mulberry with Tamarind leaves (blue), Indian Batik (green), Handmade Thai Heavy Kozo Fiber, Thai Chunky Chiri with Kozo, Mango paper (light green), Egyptian Papyrus and Thai Sheer Chunky Kozo paper (for the light tan/white in the bulrushes), lightweight Thai Unryu papers, Nepalese Lokta paper (green leaves) and embossed rose pattern paper. Embellishments include the use of metallic strands.
finished collage size: 43.5” wide x 19” tall
This collage evokes a walk in the woods in spring/summer.
I feel like I am standing in a garden of flowers - purple iris, yellow tulips and white daisies. Often I will use flower shapes and create new flowers in colors just right for the composition.
Here is my bouquet for you, all ready to hang.
finished collage size: 18" wide x 22" tall
Blooming
I find comfort in Wisconsin landscapes and the colors and trees that are found in our state.
The bottom of this collage depicts the peacefulness of the rolling hills, trees, forests and walking areas that abound.
Although rooted in Wisconsin images, the sky beckons the beholder to envision possibilities, whether it is a child looking up to imagine images in the clouds or an adult seeing a change in direction or the start of a new adventure.
This work offers a story that you, the viewer, may participate in.
"Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible." -- Paul Klee
finished collage size:
11 1/2" wide x 22 5/8" tall
My parents bought land on Hatch Lake in Iola, WI, in 1961 to build a lake home.
I have been watching sunsets there ever since, and I have photographed many of them! As the sun dips lower in every season, there is extraordinary beauty and variety to behold. This collage is a combination of photos, memories and imagination.
finished collage size: 30" wide by 24" tall
Sunset Dances
"The sun shines different ways in winter and summer.
We shine different ways in the seasons of our lives."
My work was inspired by this quotation from Terri Guillemets. I wanted this work to be an abstract interpretation of the sun that features the colors and textures of the international papers I work with. The lighter summer colors are reflected in the upper area of the sun. The darker shades, including mustards moving toward browns, in the lower area represent winter.
The seasons of our lives can reflect brighter and sometimes more reflective times, times of joy and times of transition. The overall effect of this work feels bright and optimistic with the potential of new experiences and opportunities in the next season ahead. Note how the clouds seem to be opening up to let the bright sun shine through in the top of the work.
May this work remind you of the ways your life will shine in the seasons that lie ahead.
finished collage size: 12" wide, 9" tall, 1.5" deep
finished collage size: 12" wide x 9" tall
Sunshine
Roots & Possibilities
finished collage size: 24 1/8" x 18 3/8"
This collage used the dimensional quality of the papers to create layers of background, middle and foreground. The work began with watery acrylics that were textured using salt. The next layer used pastels to give more depth. Green papers were then added to create texture in the middle ground. A beautiful paper embedded with natural inclusions was used for the birch tree trunks, and Kozo paper from Thailand was used for the foliage. The final foreground element of green textured grass grounded the work.
finished collage size: 34 1/8" wide x 18 3/8" tall
This is a very special commissioned work entitled The Lilac Tree. It is a memorial work that was created for a special family and their loss of a wonderful daughter, sister and wife. It is a personal work that reflects many ideas from the family. The lilac tree represented was planted in her memory and the purple bloom represents her life in the work. The bloom arches down and almost touches the two girls who reflect the sisters of the past and now the future children who will play in this park. The glints of copper throughout remind the family that each penny they pick up in life is a connection with their daughter, sister and wife. The Lilac is a symbol of wisdom, renewal and most of all LOVE. It was my inspiration.
finished collage size: 22" wide x 26" tall
The Lilac Tree
This collage takes the viewer to the real and imagined garden of the client and will be a “Garden Greeting” as guests enter and leave the home. This work is like stepping into a bouquet from the garden and includes golden sunflowers, blue delphiniums, iris in shades of purple, white lilies, orange flower blooms from a Trumpet tree, red poppies, multicolored zinnias and white daisies. The little bee perched atop the white lily in the left middle ground is a visual reference to the Hebrew meaning of the name Deborah: “the bee."
finished collage size: 32" wide x 48" tall
Birch Grove
This work was inspired from the client's photograph of Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, and her love of that place. Her many visits to Alaska have increased her appreciation of the beauty of the mountain. This collage was created to pay tribute to this special mountain. This work was difficult because of all of the subtle details required to show the facets on the mountain, the snow and the colors of the Polychrome Hills. Hand-painted paper that closely matched the colors of the hills was used and provided some of the lighter colors. Patience in creating six separate areas on the hills and the multifaceted qualities of Denali created the complex end result.
finished collage size: 18" wide x 12" tall
Garden Greeting
Denali
This collage takes you back to the day of a daughter's wedding and a memorable day in Milwaukee. As a gift from her parents, it was created to celebrate a very special time in life. Inspiration came from Impressionism and the work of French artists like Monet. I selected the skyline from Lake Michigan so I could include the iconic Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum. This work is an interpretation of the skyline using papers from around the world to depict the variety of textures.
finished collage size (mounted): 20" wide x 6" tall
Milwaukee Skyline
The client's request for an abstract and colorful collage took direction from the variety of papers and embellishments that became the palette of the work. The client requested variety, so I combined colorful papers with texture and inclusions of fibers/grasses and lace.
Rods were used to visually connect all three sections of the work.
This collage became a featured work in their living room and drew every visitor into their home.
finished collage size: 16" wide x 42" tall
Color Essence
Georgia O'Keeffe was born near Madison, WI, and has inspired my art teaching and my own work over the years. This quote of hers explains why:
"Nobody sees a flower, really. It is so small and it takes time, like to have a friend takes time."
I like taking the time to research, view, dissect flowers and then create a new flower by tearing and cutting papers to layer on a collage. Each flower, like each friend, is unique.
finished collage size: 26 1/4" wide x 22 1/4" tall
finished collage size: 26 1/4" wide x 22 1/4" tall
I appreciate the seasons in Wisconsin and how the trees reflect the seasonal transitions. People tell me they can see how my Wisconsin roots are reflected in my work. In this abstract work, I wanted to celebrate each season but also show the passage of time moving more quickly as I am aging. The seasons tumble along, moving from left to right.
finished collage size: 26 1/4" wide x 22 1/4" tall
The Rose
The intent of this work was to view the forest floor with poppies and tall grasses as though one is in a garden. I created the background using airbrush techniques. Sponge painting created the sun and sky. Unique white hand-pressed paper was used to create the white flowers.
finished collage size: 45" wide x 23 1/8" tall
finished collage size: 45" wide x 23 1/8" tall
Seasons' Changes
Poppies
This work was created for a couple who celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary on a trip to Norway. This particular fjord caught their eye as they rounded a turn on the road. Moved by its beauty, they snapped a photo. I realistically recreated the fjord in paper collage to remind them of their special journey. The mountains in the background provide a stunning setting, and the trees tumble down a valley to open up to farmland, a stream on the left and a road on the right. The hint of a wall - one that prevents cars from tumbling down the valley - is seen in the bottom foreground, along with a detailed bush along the roadside.
finished collage size: 24" wide x 30" tall
Remember Norway
This work developed by choosing beautiful papers to create the drama of this mountain abstract. Mountains and hills came alive using the colors of the Southwest. Metallic strands to suggest movement emphasized the blue water. The foreground implies varied land and water elements flowing away from the water, while copper rods wired to the background could suggest an abstract fence. This work takes on a myriad of feelings and possibilities each time it is viewed.
finished collage size: 40 1/8" wide x 18 1/8" tall
Copper Brilliance
This collage takes the viewer to the woods of Wisconsin. The color palette is taken from the client's favorite colors and feature soft turquoise, greens, cream and browns of the room. Contrast is provided in the evergreens using blue greens and variations of turquoise in hue and intensity. The hint of spring is shown in the texture and tree canopy developing at the top of the work and the spring bloom on the bushes in the center and right panel. The suggestion of a path wanders through each panel and the sun and cloud streaked sky provides the setting. This piece draws the eye from left to right as differing heights, colors, trees and bushes catch your attention.
finished collage size: 35" wide x 30" tall
Into the Woods
This collage takes the viewer to a garden filled with beautiful flowers. As the eye travels through the work, the details of the different flowers are represented – both realistic and imagined so that they can be appreciated. The color palette has been created from the client’s family room space and a Door County painting. The bright colors and imagined swaying of the flowers suggest the symphony theme. The piece draws the eye from right to left as differing heights, colors, sizes, and flowers catch your attention.
finished collage size: 48" wide x 22 3/4" tall
Symphony in Blooms
The setting of this collage takes the viewer to the water's edge on a cloudy and hazy day. The background hills define the horizon line, and the foreground is filled with grasses and brush. One can see how the calming effect suggested the title of Contemplation.
finished collage size: 31 1/2" wide x 27" tall
The selection of papers was critical in the development of this work-textures, similar colors in blacks, gold papers and grays were selected and embellishments of metallic threads and strands added interest and continued movement. The papers created the movement and direction that this work took. Often my work employs the use of layers of papers to create a more three dimensional quality and that was used throughout this work. The diamond shaped pieces wrapped in paper and metallic threads tied the foreground to the background and gave the viewer a focus point to begin observation of the collage.
finished collage size: 23" wide x 29" tall
Cascade
Contemplation
This work was created to be a calm snapshot of flowers along a roadside.
I used blues, tan and white colors to reflect the mood in the background which then allowed the beautiful wildflowers of the foreground to stand out.
finished collage size: 22" wide x 18" tall
This collage takes you to the day of a daughter’s wedding and a beautiful location on Central Park Lake, NYC. As a gift from her parents it was made to celebrate a very special time. Inspiration came from Impressionism and the work of French artists like Monet. I found a Russian artist whose mosaic style helped me to create the paper collage shadows in the water necessary for this work. The bridge is from the lake but is also a nod to the daughter’s home and her vocal director position with the Highbridge Voices . The skyline was emphasized to include the Dakota building looking west from the lake.
finished collage size: 20" wide x 6" tall
Central Park Looking Toward Brooklyn
Blue Skies of Spring
This collage reflects the garden of the client and includes realistic and flower interpretations. Handmade pillows in the room inspired the colors that were used in the collage. Beautiful peonies combined many shades of dark red and white. Dahlias are seen in orange hues and Gerbera daisies add yellows and oranges. Pretty blue and lavender lilacs appear in the background and multicolored zinnias create color and movement in the lower foreground. Finally little Lilies of the Valley create a delicate focal point in the middle foreground.
finished collage size: 48" wide x 24" tall
Looking into My Garden
What happens as the ice leaves the river and the winds blow? The water tumbles along rushing toward lower ground. Curly head ferns, trilliums and bulrushes with bright green hints of spring growth help to suggest the season of spring in this work. The background suggests bare trees with the hint of green foliage beginning to appear and the viewer seems to have stopped at the opening along the path to view this scene.
finished collage size: 48" wide x 24" tall
Spring Awakening
Imagine the Northern Lights in the middle of Wisconsin, early fall in the early 1960s. It was my only ever sighting of the Northern Lights and I was mesmerized by the undulating colors. That childhood memory became the inspiration for the color reflections and dark horizon line shapes you see in this work.
finished collage size: 35 1/2" wide x 18 1/4" tall
Nature's Whimsey
This collage takes the viewer to the Olympic Mountains, Kitsap Lake and the beautiful fir trees of the Northwest area near Bremerton, Washington. The color palette is taken from the natural surroundings of the area with the beautiful blues in the distant mountains and water and the lush greens of the evergreen trees and foliage of the area. The reflecting water of Kitsap Lake shows the tree line and the mountains that are gently snow capped. This view is the impression.
finished collage size: 33 1/2" wide x 22 1/2" tall