Our Guest Artist for May is Tucson mixed media artist, Elana Bloom. Elana will demonstrate how she develops human figures using her own naturally dyed papers. She will show us how to use mixed media to create works of art full of texture and depth. She will shed light on how to build shadows and highlights on human forms using cut materials. She will also explain the importance of paper weight, texture, color, and print in creating believable human forms. Her demonstration will include how she incorporates the finer elements of a human subject such as hair and skin tone to craft unique characters.

Biography

Elana Bloom is a natural dyer and artist living in Tucson, Arizona. Elana employs the historical tradition of natural dyeing to create imaginary works from threads, papers, textiles, and up cycled fabrics. A wanderer and forager, she enjoys gathering her own dye materials and brews vibrant dyes with the natural resources she finds in the urban neighborhood around her studio.

Elana grew up in the lush landscape of the Puget Sound region of Washington State and the high-desert mountains of Northern Arizona. She pursued natural dyeing as a medium in 2019. In 2022 she began to build intricate collages from her naturally dyed papers and textiles.

Elana graduated from Smith College with a BA in women and gender studies, emphasizing women’s history and literature. Her studies in gender, as well as in English literature, women’s history, and social theory inspire many of the themes explored in her work.

When not in her studio, Elana enjoys teaching the art and science of natural dyeing to public and private audiences in Arizona, and beyond.