201 Washington Avenue Grand Haven Michigan 49417 616-846-5460
Maggie Bandstra
I am an artist and arts educator living in Grand Haven, currently in the MFA in Painting Program at Savannah College of Art and Design. My work is typically nature-based designed abstractions that take form in oil paintings or pottery—symbolizing our human connection to nature. .
I hand stretch my canvases in the traditional way with copper tacks.
I value using quality materials and traditional craftsmanship. I do use photos as a reference to create forms and shapes and to plan my compositions, but not when I apply the paint. Making my work look like a photograph is not my goal because I like to see the artist’s hand in the art work.
I believe my work is a reflection of who I am: we are more than one thing. We humans have layers to us and those layers represent the complexity of human existence.