Collage Artist Leanne Poellinger is VIVA’s Guest artist for April!
I love the saying “the earth is just ‘eh’ without art.”
Making art brings me a great deal of personal satisfaction. I always get a thrill as I see a colorful image emerge on a blank substrate. If what I create also brings joy to someone else, all the better!
When I’m not creating and admiring art, I enjoy spending time on or near the Mississippi River, reading, and doing jigsaw puzzles.
- Leanne Poellinger
Leanne answers some fun questions!
How did you come to focus on your current subject?
I don’t focus on a singular subject; however, my most commonly used medium is paper.
Can you articulate what draws you to a certain composition?
My pieces are usually very colorful and detailed; however, I try to include some “resting spaces for the eye”—areas of dark, light or solid color.
Who or what has strongly influenced your work?
Last year, I created a group of mixed media pieces inspired by poems written by my paternal grandmother in the 1940’s. She passed away before I was born, but I felt a connection to her while doing this work.
If you could have one work of art in your home from a museum or private collection, what would it be?
Ooh, this is a difficult but exciting question! There are many artists and pieces of art that I admire. It would be amazing to have a Chihuly glass piece in my home. The vibrant colors and lively, organic shapes make me happy.
Why did you decide to work in your chosen medium?
I have had the pleasure of doing two 8-week work exchanges (in 2020 and 2021) at the John C. Campbell
Folk School in North Carolina, during which I was able to take many amazing classes and try different
kinds of art. Before my first time there, I had started experimenting on my own with paper collage, but
after taking a class, taught by Ann Moore Bailey, in which we combined paper collage and calligraphy, I
was hooked. At the Folk School, I was also able to take a paper-making class, taught by Claudia Lee and a
book-making class, taught by Annie Fain Barralon in addition to others. I enjoy trying different mediums
but keep coming back to paper–primarily collage. I enjoy creating detailed and textural images, inspired
by photographs or things I see, with small bits of cut and torn paper. Sometimes I include paint, stitching
or other media.
What’s the most indispensable item in your studio?
My first thought is my paper, but that isn’t a single item—it’s many, many, many items. A single item
that comes to mind that I highly value and use almost every day is my large LED floor lamp that extends
over my workspace.
How do you know when a piece of work is finished?
I often work from a reference photo, so when I feel that my creation is a good representation of my take
on the photo (it’s never exactly like the photo—it evolves as I work on it), I can say that it’s finished. I
usually step away from the piece for a day or so, take a photo of it with my phone and look at it on my
computer. Sometimes, seeing it this way makes me decide to do a little more work on it but often I’m
pleased with it the way it is.
From where do you draw your inspiration?
Often my pieces are inspired by botanical images like flowers and trees, although I have also done
people, animals, landscapes and more. I’m attracted to colorful, detailed images that allow me to
“paint” the detail with layers of small piece of paper.
What does your studio look like?
My studio used to be one of our son’s bedrooms on the second floor of our house. It has a small south-
facing window but I wish I had more natural light. My husband remodeled it for me very nicely—with
vinyl wood flooring and white walls with picture rail moldings, allowing me to hang much of my work
and easily move pieces around. I store supplies in the large dresser and on shelves in the closet and have
extra shelves and plastic containers to store my paper by color. I work on a desk with a back table with
more supplies. There is a television in the room, but I usually listen to an audiobook or work in quiet.
Leanne’s Biography
As a child in La Crescent, Minnesota where she still resides, Leanne cut out images of clothing and people from the J.C. Penney catalog to make her own paper dolls. In high school and college (business major, not art) she doodled in the margins of class notebooks and painted an occasional picture for a friend.
While her three sons were young, she didn’t make time for much art other than what she could do with them (they made some pretty impressive Lego creations!)
Leanne’s 26-year career as the Marketing & Development Director for the Children’s Museum of La Crosse, Wisconsin allowed her to be creative in many of her work tasks. Since her 2023 retirement from this position, she has more time to
make and admire art.
Although she has had no formal art training, she inherited some artistic talent. In fact, Leanne’s paternal grandmother was
a poet and is pictured in the World Book Encyclopedia under “copper”, as she made jewelry and other artwork in the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
Leanne enjoys trying new mediums. Her current favorites are paper collage, handmade greeting cards, and copper on
enamel jewelry.
She has participated in two extended work-study programs at the renowned John C. Campbell Folk School in North
Carolina. There, she took classes and exhibited in watercolor and oil painting, calligraphy and collage, enameling,
printmaking, wood marquetry, metalworking, and fused glass.
Leanne currently exhibits work at River City Gallery in downtown La Crosse, WI and has exhibited at the Franciscan
Spirituality Center (La Crosse, WI), Gallery 24 (Rochester MN), Gallery M, Tin Cat Studio (Amery, WI), and the Pump
House Regional Arts Center (La Crosse, WI). She welcomes commissions for custom work.
She was selected to participate in a weeklong Folklore & Collage Residency in March of 2023 at the Knoxville Museum of
Art, sponsored by Kolaj Magazine. Works created during this residency were exhibited as part of the Celebration of
Folklore at MERZ Gallery in Sanquhar, Scotland in September 2023.
“Some people seek deep or hidden meaning in art,“ says Leanne. “It can be special when a piece of art connects with a
particular emotion or story for someone, but I don’t usually create art with this in mind. I most often create very colorful
pieces because I find joy in color. I hope others do too.”
