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Brenda Struiksma

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Nanas Pretty Paper was started in 2017, when quite by accident I discovered that coiled strips of paper added depth, texture and dimension to a watercolor painting. This technique spoke directly to my heart and I knew instantly that I could create beautiful and intriguing art work.  Every single piece I create is one of a kind, as I cannot manipulate the paper to lay the same way more than once. 

 

My name is Brenda Lynn Van Beek Struiksma. I learned when I was a little girl that I could draw and I learned in my teens that I could oil paint but I did not enjoy that. I wanted to learn to watercolor but was scared to attempt it. About 10 years ago I decided to give it a try and knew instantly that I loved it. It spoke to my heart. 

I learned many years ago, that I cannot predict what people will like or what piece will do well at a show.  I learned to simply create what my heart wants me too. So, I begin with a very elementary drawing or a very vague watercolor.  Sometimes there are very few details in the painting. I then add those needed details using strips of paper glued on their sides.  

 

After 26 years as a USPS employee and a cancer survivor, I reached a low point in my career. Due to heavy work loads, long hours and inclement weather, I knew I no longer wanted to carry on in this field. One day in the heat, discouraged, I pulled my vehicle off the road and I said a very simple prayer, asking God to show me another way if there was one.  

 

A few months later I was putting together a Christmas event and needed several Christmas ornaments that had to be made of paper. I shopped, couldn't find anything I liked, Googled it, and found a quilled art ornament, but they were expensive so I decided to make one myself.  

 

In doing so, I happened to lay one on the table and went off to get a cup of coffee and when I returned I notice that my ornament had landed on a watercolor I had painted the day before. and it outlined the subject of the watercolor perfectly.  At that moment, I saw what I could do, and I knew this was a direct answer to my prayer.   

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