PORTFOLIO: VISUAL ART

INCLUDING SAMPLES & BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Hello, Dear Readers!

This is not a typical post, but instead a portfolio of some of my visual artwork.

In lieu of a website, I’m hosting this portfolio on this platform, for anyone interested in checking out samples of my work in one, central spot.

I’ve never made a portfolio before—my art school feverdream never did yet materialize, so I’ve been sewing parts of my artistic life together in my own untrained, feral way over the course of my life.

Keep on going if this interests you, and if you’re here for the usual essays and poetry and cultural fodder, no worries—stay tuned for future missives as summer wanes.

After this post, this portfolio will become a static page on my homepage, so if you would like to return to the images in the future—to order prints (most can be turned into prints, cards or similar physical evidence of life), suggest a collaboration, have a unique project in mind, or otherwise look around, no fear, it will be here!

With gratitude,

MERKAT

PORTFOLIO

*Note: the following images are original works, and as such belong solely to me, the artist, and may not be used, distributed or dispersed in any form—electronic, print, or other—without my express written permission. Thanks!

I am a writer and educator by training and trade, but my heart belongs to art.

Art is practical magic.

I am a self-taught visual and interdisciplinary artist with a life-long love of illustration.

From countless hours spent drawing portraits of family dogs and cats in my single-digits era; to years’ long feminist exploration of traditionally “domestic” materials such as beeswax, lint, coffee, eggs, and molasses in my 20s; to decades of playing with acrylics, oils, wood, heat, and digital technologies, I feel I am just getting started.

I believe that we humans are all artists, all made to create a something from a nothing, and I feel privileged to follow that sacred summoning.

I founded “Hand to Art by MERKAT” in 2024 after years of wanting to create fun, funky and thoughtful greeting cards and prints.

I struggled and continue to struggle with the notion of using living trees and putting more new “things” into the world, but after being inundated by the growing glut of AI-generated images in the public sphere, I was motivated to take the leap into the greeting cards project—both to add to and amplify the presence of real human artists offering original, functional art to the world, and as a form of resistance to AI’s influence on the environment, culture, and the manner in which we interact and communicate with one another as living, breathing beings.

The sale of many of my greeting cards (available at the independent local bookstore, Reader’s Nook, or by directly contacting me here—NOT available on A*&z$n or otherwise online) comes with a committment to donate a portion of the profits to environmenal and social causes close to my heart, including local land conservancies and the humane society.

For now, I feel the benefits of cultural resistance and challenge to the mainstream narrative offered by handmade functional art outweigh the potential environmental costs, but I continue to check in with myself often.

This tension will remain dynamic for all of us in the coming years, with more widespread appreciation of climate change and resource constraints.

And yet: writing words with an actual pen on an actual physical card and handing—or snail mailing—that physical artifact to another human is a magical thing.

So with a focus on resource conservation and sustainable practices, and a committment to attention and intention in my art, I want more than anything to foster more human embodiment, connection, and everyday magic in the world.

Hand-drawn art and handwritten words are key elements in this wholesome enchantment.

I have created myriad versions of surface art over the years, including a line of tee-shirts and organic cotton totes in 2008 made from entirely eco-friendly, salvaged materials—both the materials used to create the artwork, and the tee shirts and totes themselves.

I called this collection “Foragekraft” and sold the original pieces, based on illustrations inspired by my home bioregion the Great Lakes watershed, at farmer’s markets and via snail mail.

Since then, I have continued to create original illustrations and mixed-media works across a variety of mediums, including pen and ink; digital, hand-drawn illustrations; mixed media works in acrylic and oil on wood, paper and canvas; to several collections of originally illustrated, handmade poetry chapbooks—both self-published and published by the small, women-founded, owned and operated independent press, Glentula Press.

My work has been included in print and online publications, has been commissioned for branding, illustration, and design and has even found its way into a few tattoos!

My debut solo art show, “Wild Imagination,” took place in September 2024 and included original mixed-media works inspired by the Great Lakes Watershed and created with salavaged and eco-friendly materials.

Beyond solo shows, I continue to participate in the wider arts community; in particular, I give of my time, work and energy to creative projects that grow from the intersection of visual art and environmental activism.

Collaborative performances such as Nature Nurture, in which I created a series of images around the political destruction of the Ontario Greenbelt, and my work with the Species at Risk Zine, among other efforts, highlight the power and potential of human-made art offered up in service to the natural world and wider community.

My style is versitile and responsive, but always true to the inner sensibilities that have been honed throughout my years, and that continue to evolve with each new project.

At the heart of my work is a deep committment to the natural world, to children, women, and other marginalized and vulnerable populations, and to the necessity of ensuring that all of the arts remain inclusive and barrier-free for all.

I do not and will not use AI in my practice, and I strive to work toward more fulsome advocacy and awareness around the need to support real, human artists who work by hand and heart to the betterment of our societies, cultures and future.

I would very much like to connect with folks interested in amplifying human-made art, especially as it benefits kids, communities, underserved and marginalized populations, and the planet.

If your work supports Great Lakes artists, writers and community connections, I’d especially love to hear from you!

…And if you have anything to do with a library, literacy, or other mission close to my heart—sign me up!

If our visions align, I also voluteer my services to those tight on cash but heavy on heart for good causes in support of underserved people, animals, and the planet.

Like most artists, word-of-mouth is especially helpful!

If you can’t or aren’t interested in supporting my work directly, but you have folks or organizations in your life who might be interested in what I do, I would very much appreciate your good word, share, connection or referral.

Questions? Message me here:

With gratitude,

MERKAT