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Blanche P. Wilson

Blanche Wilson was born in Salt Lake City in 1922. While maintaining an active interest in drawing, painting, and sculpture, she is best known for her intricate woodcut prints. She lives in Ogden, Utah.

Wilson was raised and educated in Portland, Oregon where she studied art at Marylhurst College. After she raised her children, she earned a BS in special education from Weber State University. While she was earning an MA in art (1987) from Brigham Young University, she developed her love of printmaking.

Lower 25th Street (1986) is an example of Wilson's more complex woodcuts. Taylor Avenue, Ogden (1992) won the purchase prize in the 1992 spring salon of the Springville Museum of Art. In 1997, American Nutrition won a merit award at the annual spring salon of the Springville Museum of Art.

Biography adapted from material supplied by the Artist.

Born in Salt Lake City in 1922, she was raised and educated in Portland , Oregon , and was the oldest of five children. She began drawing at an early age and has kept up the practice throughout her life. Her father, in his traveling, would bring home stacks of paper from print shops, paper mills or other sources so the supply was unlimited and all the children used it. She drew paper dolls and their clothes, decorated her school papers with doodles and faces. Her sisters are artists and her brother an architect. All studied music also.

Blanche majored in art at Marylhurst College in Portland and at B.Y.U. before marrying and moving to Ogden where she and her husband raised six children. In her forties, she returned to college and earned a B.S. in special education at Weber State University and a Master's Degree in art at B.Y.U.. She developed a love of printmaking during that time. She taught academic subjects at the Utah State School for the Blind for 21 years retiring in 1987. While teaching and raising her family, she painted oil portraits and worked in watercolor. Eventually her interest in printmaking grew and for thirty or more years her primary interest has been woodblock printing.

Woodblock printing takes a lot of space. At first she used the kitchen table, printing Christmas cards and small black and white prints. Then, as the children matured and moved out, she used the ping pong table and the large play room. At this time, she has an efficient studio in the condo where she and her new husband are living.

All of her prints are hand printed on Japanese printing papers such as Hosho, Torinoko, and other papers. Her prints are limited to fifty and a few good trial prints (or APs--Artist's Proofs). She has won many awards for her work. Her name is listed among Springville's “One Hundred Most Honored Artists of Utah.“ Mrs. Wilson is represented by Phillips Gallery in Salt Lake City and Eccles Community Art Center in Ogden.

To contact artist: bminnie@comcast.net

Biography courtesy of the Artist.

Newspaper Articles

"1999 The Deseret News Landscape Art Show." The Deseret News, August 19, 1999.

"1994 Utah Arts Festival Real Art Makes Stop at UP Depot." The Salt Lake Tribune, June 19, 1994.

"An Arty, Leisurely Walk on a Short Pierpont Avenue." The Deseret News, January 15, 1989.

"Art After 80." The Salt Lake Tribune, October 31, 2004.

"Artful Utahans." The Deseret News, October 29, 2000.

"Color of the Land, The Deseret News Art Show Brings Out the Best from Local Artists." The Deseret News, August 19, 1999.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, March 9, 1997.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, March 2, 1997.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, February 23, 1997.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, February 16, 1997.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, February 9, 1997.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, March 26, 1995.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, March 19, 1995.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, March 12, 1995.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, March 5, 1995.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, February 26, 1995.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, September 25, 1995.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, September 18, 1994.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, September 11, 1994.

"Galleries." The Deseret News, September 4, 1994.

"Judging Landscapes." The Deseret News, August 17, 1999.

"Local Galleries Prove that Gift-Giving Can Be a Real Art." The Deseret News, December 12, 1993.

"Pierpont Avenue's Full of Exhibits." The Deseret News, September 17, 1989.

"Printmaking Exhibit at Ogden Art Gallery." The Deseret News, May 9, 1999.

"Purchase Award and Merit Award Winners." The Deseret News, August 19, 1999.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, May 30, 1999.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, May 15, 2005.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, May 8, 2005.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, May 1, 2005.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, April 24, 2005.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, April 17, 2005.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, April 10, 2005.

"Showing at Local Galleries." The Deseret News, May 9, 1999.

"Spring Salon." The Deseret News, April 26, 1998.

"'Small Packages' Contain Lots of Beauty for Art Lovers." The Deseret News, December 6, 1992.

"The Pierpont Gallery: An Exercise in Collaboration for both Artists and Architects." The Deseret News, May 26, 1988.

"Winning Artists and Titles." The Deseret News, April 2, 1994.

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