Dogwood

Christine Ilewski Huelsmann is an artist who has always used art as a means to process her world, never confined by traditional boundaries. From a young age, she demonstrated her creative approach by transforming a simple coloring book page into a mixed media collage using glue, papers, sequins, and other found objects. This early experience reflects her lifelong passion for combining pigments with the textures and narratives found in everyday materials. Christine's work often incorporates these found materials, as she believes they carry a piece of the people who have touched them, adding depth to the stories she tells through her art. In her Faces Not Forgotten (FNF) project, which honors young victims of gun violence, she initially used vintage handkerchiefs as a symbolic background for the portraits, representing a mother’s grief. This project has become a significant part of her artistic journey, providing comfort to grieving families and raising awareness about the impact of gun violence.