Darlene Schaper is a Portland, Oregon, mixed-media artist, and a graduate of the Pacific NW College of Art. Her work is currently represented by the Guardino Gallery in Portland and has been sold worldwide. She has had her work published and written about in Ceramics Monthly, Art Doll Quarterly, Somerset Studio, Cloth Paper Scissors, and Venus magazines. Darlene is the creator of the first Women’s History Card Deck that has been recently published and is now available in stores. She has appeared on the new DIY Network’s Craft Lab with a show focusing on some of her favorite techniques and a showing of her artwork.

“My art is a narrative combination of how I perceive the world and the way I have experienced it. Many of my references come from childhood memories mixed with present nighttime dreams, and cultural myth. I have been strongly influenced by children’s stories, especially those that revolve around female characters. These were my early introductions to how I, as a female, could place myself in the world. My interest in cultural mythologies stems from the awareness of our fragility in the world, and my desire to have control over my life. Ancient ways of explaining the unexplainable are buried in my subconscious. These omens and signals continue to comfort me when I am unable to change the things that happen. Dreams play into this as a way for me to interpret and deal with the daily happenings of life.” - Darlene Schaper