getting to know cathy parmelee

Cathy Parmelee

Meet one of the Roc Nicholas Rubber Stamp Design Team Members, Cathy Parmelee.  Cathy lived in Juneau, Alaska for a long time before she moved to Redding, California with her husband and teen-aged daughter.  She also has two sons.  The eldest son still lives and works in Juneau, Alaska.  Her youngest son recently enlisted in the Marines and is currently in basic training.  Oorah!

Cathy has many hobbies which include cooking, baking, decorating and gardening. She describes herself as an "avid reader".  Cathy is also passionate about art and finds great joy in her creative journey.  She loves how she can express herself through art, and cheerfully embraces the notion that, if her art speaks to someone else that it is "icing on the cake". 

Cathy professes she has more ideas and inspiration than time allows her to  produce with her full schedule.  She has a busy lifestyle but finds ways to work in art time, whether she actually makes it in to her art studio or not.  Cathy's love of art is evident. She enjoys mixed media, collage and acrylic painting. She is a self-taught artist, but ir-regardless of her having no formal schooling in art, her work is amazing.  It is whimsical, full of color, and makes you feel good when you see it. 

Cathy has spent many years exploring various crafts, but didn't really delve into art until late 2007. But despite only a few years honing this craft, Cathy's work has been in various galleries, including a juried gallery in Juneau.  Since she moved from Alaska to California, she says she no longer lives in a very arty community, but she has had the accomplishment of having her art hang in several non-gallery venues in her town.  Cathy credits much of her art growth to online artist trading sites.

Cathy's favorite supply is paper.  She loves all kinds of paper, from plain to specialty paper. She finds inspiration in color and texture.   Cathy admits to using rubber stamps almost as soon as she began exploring mixed media.  She loves layers in her art and found that, besides paper, rubber stamps worked well with that and could be easily incorporated for added depth.  Cathy states, "For me, rubber stamps are key to adding dimension and whimsy to a piece of art."  Cathy always has at least one black stamp pad on her art desk at all times.  She says you can always find a scattering of rubber stamps laying around as well.

To see more of Cathy's work you can visit her blog at www.pureoneimpressions.blogspot.com.