ABOUT
Deanna has exhibited regularly and extensively since 1984 shortly before acquiring her Bachelor of Science from Bowling Green University in Ohio. Early highlights include exhibitions with the Ohio Watercolor Society, The Ohio Craftsman Group, and at galleries, museums, and outdoor festivals. She has received grants and awards for her oil paintings, ceramics, and drawings and has been awarded opportunities Nationally and Internationally. She was accepted as one of five Americans for the first Artist Exchange with the Union Of Artists of St. Petersburg, Russia. Living and working amidst the artists in a fienze (porcelain) factory was life-changing for her. One of the ceramic sculptural works she created there was selected for the Museum of Artists of St. Petersburg's permanent collection. Two years later she was chosen by People to People International to lead a delegation back to reconnect with the artist she had lived and worked with in St. Petersburg and later toured with the group through the waterways to Moscow. She continues to produce work in Philadelphia. Several of her one-of-a-kind artworks are in private and corporate collections.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Visual artist and designer Deanna McLaughlin creates one-of-a-kind artworks, jewelry, and custom designs for the home. Her Philadelphia studio space is a sanctuary for her to indulge in the creative process. She is inspired by the form, color, line, and texture found in nature and the world around her– anything from a stick to the mundane discarded objects of our society. Through her eyes, everyday objects are transformed into anything from joy-filled to pensive reflections about the irony in our American society. Most recently her work has focused on pragmatic designs from repurposed sustainable objects, and Cartrageous wearable accessories created with the intention to donate proceeds to a local soup kitchen. “Regardless of the material I use to make art, the creative process gives me the opportunity to merge my inner self with my reflections of the world in which we live.”
Deanna’s passion for living her art bleeds through every aspect of her home and work. She balances exhibiting her artwork with her other passion, teaching yoga. To see more of her love of yoga visit www.taketimetobreathe.com.