Daniela Edstrom
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Fine Art, Analog and Digital Collage, Photography


NEWS


My present endeavor is to master digital collage.

Using point and shoot photography, the intent is to 

combine imagery of nature inspired by the rhythms

of music. Color will attempt to interpret sound and

form will be a compliment, varying according to the

elements originally found in the environment.

Picture
"Shadow Talk", 11 x 8.5 in., photograph, 2014.

Picture
"Emergence", 8 x 10 in., photograph, 2014.

The point and shoot camera continues to offer

challenges, obliging the artist to be severely critical

with the "compositional eye." The simple camera

forces one to be highly selective with shots taken

- studying form becomes evermore pivotal.

Picture
Study for "Four Freedoms" exhibition at the Norman Rockwell Museum, photo collage.

Picture
"Subtle Evocation", 8 x 10 in., photograph, 2014.

Picture
"Death Card" study in a reinterpretation of the famous Arthur Waite tarot deck, 2019.

Picture
"Freedom of Religion, Freedom to Believe" a study for the "Four Freedoms" traveling exhibition (20 x 24 in., photo collage, 2018).

FOUR FREEDOMS

The study above, "Freedom of Religion,

Freedom to Believe", wishes to

challenge the viewer into considering

what is the contemporary role of faith

and religion in the 21st century. It is a

modern reinterpretation of American

illustrator, Norman Rockwell's Post

cover - "Freedom of Religion." Within

the aforementioned piece, Rockwell

places the statement -"Each according

to the dictates of his own conscience." I

too aim to provoke thought in the

viewer . . . I leave to his or her gaze the

quote: "Faith is the tolerance required,

compassion the key."

Picture
"Here and There", 14 x 11 in., photograph, 2020.

Picture
"Impression Rhododendron", 8x 10 in., photo collage, 2021.

Picture
"Rose Unfolding", 8 x 10 in., photography digitally manipulated, 2021.

Picture
"The Revisitation of Flora", 14 x 11 in., photo construct, archival pigment print, 2022.

EXHIBITIONS


TRANSCENDENCE EXHIBIT

On display between June 4 through the 29th,

2025
, at the Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery in

Portsmouth, N.H.
, is the show Transcendence -

an exhibit dedicated to regional Pride. It speaks

to the depth and diversity of LGBTQIA

experiences, as well as to the ongoing journey of

self-expression.


The noted show focuses on art that

communicates authenticity and celebrates

acceptance. The piece below, "Beauty

Transcendent"
, this artist's work in the exhibit,

wishes to question the concept of idealized

beauty. The traditional standards of "loveliness"

are turned topsy turvy, fragmented, to extoll the

belief that beauty itself can assume a myriad of

forms and symbolic values; it truly is most

interesting when diverging from the

mainstream.

Picture
"Beauty Transcendent", 11 x 14 in., mixed media collage, 2025.

Picture
"Beyond", 8.5 x 11 in., mixed media collage, 2025.

INTERWOVEN EXHIBIT

Presently on view from April 30 to June 1st, 2025 

is the show "Interwoven" at the Robert Lincoln 

Levy Gallery in Portsmouth, N.H.  It is an exhibit 

exploring connections that bind people, cultures,

histories and ideas. The work on view presents a 

wide variety of medium, from oil paintings and 

photography, to textiles. 


The visual piece below, "Weavings - Present and

Beyond",
is this artist's contribution to the noted

display. The image intends to explore the

​intricate and interwoven nature of memory in the

​process of recalling a past experience.

Picture
"Weavings - Present and Beyond", 14 x 11 in., photo montage, 2025

Picture
"Resilience of the soul, phase one", 14 x 11 in., archival pigment print, 2024.

BOTANICAL PONDERINGS

The year 2024 has been one of investigating and 

reminiscing about the kingdom of flora in all her  

beauty.  Buds have been studied in their 

effulgence and precarious states . . . from a dying

blossom to a storm tossed flower.  Flora is 

enticing, drawing one into her secretive, as well 

as her proud and persistent stance. 

Below are some "portraits" of flora in diverse 

​states of being. I hope you peruse and enjoy.

Picture
"Natural complexion", 11 x 14 in., photograph, 2024.

Picture
"Amethyst Beauty", 8.5 x 11 in., photograph, 2024.

24th Joan L. Dunfey Annual Juried Exhibition,

"MindFUL"

Celebrating mental health awareness, MindFUL

is an exhibition running from Nov. 1 through

Nov. 26th, 2023 at the Robert Lincoln Levy

Galler
y in Portsmouth, N.H.  The show intends

to examine the complexity of mental health and

its subtleties, with images ranging from

introspective ​portraits to landscapes. Alluding to

the vast and mysterious nature of the human

mind, this exhibit offers much to contemplate

and admire.


Mind Reflection, seen below, is this author's 

contribution to the aforementioned show; the

piece examines the elusive quality of memory, 

as both a lasting imprint on the psyche and as a

fleeting aspect of the process of remembering.


Picture
"Mind Reflection", 14 x 11 inches, photo collage, 2023, archival pigment print.

2023 NCOA PHOTOGRAPHY AWARD CONTEST-

Aging Well for All


Extending from 6/12/23 - 7/6/23 are both an

online exhibition (www.ncoa.org) and onsite

gallery show, each to be announced by the NCOA

(National Council on Aging
) at their

aforementioned site. The "Aging Well for All"

exhibit is a national show dedicated to the 

inherent beauty and wisdom of older women. 

Photographers/visual artists were asked to create

works which expressed not only the inner spirit 

and strength of mature women, but their critical

value to their communities and society at large.


A virtual show of accepted pieces will be opening

on June 12, 2023 at the NCOA site

(www.ncoa.org). Three of this artist's pieces 

were invited to the national display - "As She 

Grows", "Remembrances" and "Time Thoughts"

(please view piece below). Each of the noted 

visual works celebrate the spiritual resiliency and

rich character of the artist's octogenarian

mother. The exhibit, with over 1000 entrants,

should prove both inspiring and uplifting.


Picture
"As She Grows", 14 x 11 in., photograph, 2023.

CAMBRIDGE ART ASSOCIATION 2022

NATIONAL PRIZE SHOW


Soon to be on view at the Cambridge Art 

Association's Kathryn Schultz Gallery is the

2022 National Prize Show.
Over 900 works

were submitted for the show and 77 were

selected. The noted show was open themed and

intends to showcase emerging artists. Works

range from mixed media to photography and will

be presented at the Schultz Gallery in two parts;

Show 1 will run from May 31 - June 25, 2022.

Show 2 will extend from July 5 - 30, 2022. An

Opening Reception will be held online on June

3, 2022 between 6;30 and 8:00 pm. 



​Included in this national exhibit are two works by 

this artist, "The Revisitation of Flora" and 

"Becoming" - both are photo constructs and 

presented as archival pigment prints.  The 

former work, to the left, is a contemporary 

interpretation of the myth of Flora, goddess of

flowers. 

Picture
"Mutation", 9 x 12 in., drawing, medium: marker. 2021.

INSPIRATION


Creating art requires a good deal of effort and

an ounce of that intangible, inspiration. It is for

this reason that the artist must consistently

refuel his or her psychological or emotional gas

tank. He or she must take time away, a break,

from the process of art production, to "imbibe"

more external imagery (visual nourishment), as

well as ideas.




The process of artistic growth is a constant one,

with the "creator" steadily weighing

information and external stimuli. Producing art

is a perennial judging of factors and meanings -

i.e. color, line, form, light, etc.- with symbolism

often shifting as the work progresses. Thus, I

would encourage one to dip one's feet into the

other cultural arts - writing, theatre, dance.

music. Excursions into the territory of these art

forms rewires the brain, invariably stimulating

other senses and abilities.




One discovers new ground in exploring other

visual and performing arts. A fresh light is often

shed on given ideas or concepts, and with a

different viewpoint comes a new,

revitalizing approach to realizing or finishing a

work.






"Don't judge each day by the harvest you

reap but by the seeds that you plant."


Robert Louis Stevenson







"Art washes away from the soul the dust of

everyday life."


Pablo Picasso







"It is not enough to know your craft - you

have to have feeling. Science is all very well,

but for us imagination is worth far more."

Eduard Manet







"No one is an artist unless he carries his picture

in his head before painting it, and is sure of his

method and composition."

Claude Monet

Picture
"in the Light", 10 x 8 in., photography 2020.

Picture
Snap and shoot photo. "Haiku moment", 8 x 10 in., 2020.

Picture
"Memento Mori, In the Name of Freedom", 11 x 8.5 in., photo montage, 2017.

Picture
"Kisses in the Dark", title of a poetry book. It results a study in publication design. The cover wishes to draw the reader in with a sense of the evocative and entranced.

PUBLICATION DESIGN

Book Cover Design is one of the more

inspirational forms of design within the

illustrator's or designer's fields of

endeavor. The ideal, of course, would

be to have a synopsis of the book's

narrative as a launching point for the

cover's actual ideation. Book cover

design IS a visual challenge - as can be

​imagined - loaded with symbolism. But all begins

with a first sketch, which filters out one's initial

ideas. Certainly, a myriad of studies ensue from

the first conceptual drawing; for the above cover,

"Kisses in the Dark", love poetry was the

launching point. One is compelled to visually

state that the theme of love itself is not always

focused on passion, happiness or predestination,

​but also regret and loss.

Picture
"Hydrangea Blur", 14 x 11 in., photograph, 2020.

Picture
"Rapture", c. 8.5 x 11 in., digital photo collage, 2022.

Picture
"Illumination Reconstructed", 11 x 14 in., digital photo collage, 2022.

Picture
"Tulips - Pondering", 8.5 x 11 in., photograph, 2024.


All content copyrighted, all rights reserved by Daniela Edstrom , C.  2024
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