Congratulations to MFA Printmaking student, Madeline Sturm
Department of Art + Design - 27 June 2023
The Department of Art & Design is delighted to announce that MFA Printmaking student Madeline Sturm has received a 2023 Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant. The Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation is dedicated to assisting students and emerging artists as they develop mastery in traditional techniques and workmanship. Congratulations, Madeline, on receiving this prestigious award!
About Madeline
Madeline Sturm is a printmaker and visual artist from southwest Colorado, USA. She recently graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder where she received her BFA with an emphasis in printmaking. Madeline is a MFA candidate in Printmaking at the University of Alberta and currently resides in Edmonton, Alberta (treaty 6 territory). An important part of Madeline’s practice is partaking and organizing portfolio exchanges with artists across the world. A way to feel connected to the people in our print community and give people a space to share their work amongst others. Madeline has always been drawn to natural environments, which conveys an unambiguous feeling that is provoked when in these spaces. Her purpose with her art making is to make the viewer feel a connection to these natural spaces.
Artist Statement
My experience of being raised in rural Colorado has had an ongoing impact on my creative practice. I have always been drawn to natural spaces, and the way in which these environments bring light and attention to these small intricate and complex worlds that are encapsulated in ecosystems that we can often not see but potentially feel. My current intent as an artist is to explore questions of interconnectivity, in hopes that the viewers of my work will feel a sense of connection to greater ecosystems in which we are all intertwined. These creative explorations have led me to question how the idea of both the human and non-human and frame it in a contemporary context, and if this framing results in a simulated separation that limits our sense of ourselves and the world around us.
In some situations nature has also been forced to comply with our impact. This bird’s nest is carefully woven together consisting almost entirely of microplastics. Beautiful yet despairing. An object that is so fragile and important that is used as a vessel for life, is greatly impacted by our presence.
(Biography and Artist Statement supplied. All images reprinted with permission of the artist. Find out more about Madeline and her work here.)