Cassandra Swierenga — “A Visual Memoir”

The Elmhurst Art Museum is exhibiting Cassandra Swierenga’s  “Visual Memoir” until Oct. 18. The collection is composed of a variety of art mediums, such as watercolors, acrylic paint, sketches, and more. All of the artwork is available for purchase unless marked otherwise.

All of the proceeds will be going to the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy, an organization dedicated to fighting Duchenne through research and advocacy. The artist chose this specific charity in honor of her grandson, who is currently living with muscular dystrophy.

Swierenga has an extensive history of creating art, for she began creating at a young age. Growing up, she drew up fashion designs — which have been collected into a binder that is available to look through at the beginning of the exhibit.

In the late 90s, Swierenga took an introductory painting class at the College of DuPage in Illinois. Through her time at the school, she was able to refine techniques in numerous painting mediums such as oils, acrylics, watercolor, encaustic, fresco, and more.

In 2007, Swierenga joined the Illinois Watercolor Society —- a group dedicated to advancing the education and exposure of watercolor painting. She was awarded a ‘Signature Membership’ in 2010, which is given to artists who have presented their work at at least three Illinois Watercolor Society national exhibitions.

As of 2013, Swierenga has been a member of the Elmhurst Artist Guild, a non-profit charity that organizes exhibitions, lectures, workshops, classes, and more to encourage the development of the arts.  She served on their board of directors for nine years, holding positions such as Program Director and President of the board.

Check out Swierenga’s work while you can!