“My goal as an artist is to create images that communicate to the viewer that life is interconnected and fragile. Our bodies should be valued and protected; the natural world, which our bodies are a part of, should be valued and protected.”

By Breen and Rousseau

South Bend, IN

“I am an artist and educator living and working in South Bend, Indiana. I make artwork because I need to express my inner thoughts and connect with my inner life through visual images. I was born in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan surrounded by lakes and trees. I spent countless hours in or on them. I developed my love for drawing nature and the human figure during college and explored techniques around photocopy reproductions, collage, drawing, painting, and printmaking. My work has been consistently influenced by nature over the years, and I continue to be inspired by the environment, climate change, and the human body.”

Rousseau’s most recent work delves into the world of ancient Goddess figurines. The powerful female strength and creation symbols became a significant point of departure for her art. Inspired by the potential of the feminine for transformation, her imagery seeks to express this hidden potential. She celebrates the female form as a creator of life and a connection to the earth. Her recent artworks explore the energy of the feminine spirit and its potential for healing, hope, and change.

These monotype prints and mixed-media artworks are inspired by ancient Goddess figurines, some of the ancient art created twenty thousand years ago. Rousseau used artifacts of Willendorf, Isis, Aphrodite, and Venus as points of departure because she seeks to express the potential of the feminine for transformation. These Goddesses are gathered here in many forms, portraying her hope for healing and connection that reaches back through time.

see more rousseau art

The Goddess monotype print imagery was created using relief printmaking ink on an acrylic matrix. An etching press was used to transfer the ink from the acrylic onto archival paper. Layers of color and texture were added with multiple passes of the paper through the press using stencils of figures on the acrylic. Larger relief prints were created with a plywood matrix that was sanded and cut, then printed; layers of color and inked stencils were also used to block out and add color to the prints. The results are all one-of-a-kind prints.

Laurie Rousseau

GODDESS - Laurie Rousseau

“My goal as an artist is to create images that communicate to the viewer that life is interconnected and fragile. Our bodies should be valued and protected; the natural world, which our bodies are a part of, should be valued and protected.”