"TIGHTLY WRAPPED 1 (PANDEMIC)", old clothing, yarn, string, fiber, cheesecloth, found objects, zipper, 16" x 5"
"TIGHTLY WRAPPED 2 (PANDEMIC)", old clothing, doll parts, paper mache, yarn, string, fiber, found objects, 15" x 6"
"MAKING ART GOT ME THROUGH", t-shirts, sweater, old clothing, vintage yarn spools, thread, yarn, fiber, 15" x 5"
 WANT MOM | thimbles, vintage jewelry, buttons, beads, hand collection, watch parts, shells, pottery shards, chains, found objects, 20” X 11” X 5”
OAXACA IN MY DREAMS | bottlecaps, mexican souvineers, tin, milagros, fiber, found objects, 12” x 6” x 4”
 CHILDHOOD MATTERS | Game pieces, clay heads, bottlecaps, keys, marbles, vintage tins, doll parts, fiber, found objects, 8" x 10" x 5"
My town in Mexico
Tribute to Betye Saar
Diva Moving in the Right Direction | 2011, clay, wood, letterpress pieces, paper, books, found objects, 4" x 16" x 2"
Portrait of the Artist | 2011, cheese box, wood, tin, vintage paint tubes, old paint brushes, found objects, 5" x 26" x 1"
There's No Place Like Home | 2010, compass, wire, clay, wood, map, found objects
Visible Man | deconstructed visible man toy, found objects, wire, paint, bottlecaps, textile, 2" x 8" x 3"
It's Just as Easy To Marry a Rich Man | vintage eyeclass case, currency, orphan jewelry, vintage cake decoration, photograph, 5" x 6" x 1"
Don't Go Out Without a Coat | Altoid tin, twig, paper, bottlecap, found objects, 6" x 5" x 1"
You're Too Young to Wear a Bra | found objects, 5" x 2" x 1"
Stop Clowning Around and Do Your Homework! | found objects, 6" x 5" x 1"
I'm Working My Fingers to the Bone | vintage dollhouse piece and figure, found objects, 4-1/2" x 2" x 3/4"
Biker Babe | 2011, bike seat, hardware, paintbrush handle, leather, paint, found objects, 8" x 10" x 2"
RED ACCESSORIES
REDy to GO!
WHO NOSE?
THE EYES HAVE IT!
No items found.
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MOM AND POP | 2018, paint tube, found tin, fiber, clay paint, wire found objects
FOR EVERY BIRD A NEST | 2018, fiber, paper mache, clay, paint, wire, found objects, 26" x 7"
CORTIZONE, AVEENO, COLGATE | 2018, paint, clay, fiber, wire, found objects, 12" x 4" x 1/2"
FRIENDSHIP CIRCLE | 2018, clay, fiber, wire, spool, paint, found objects, 7" x 9" x 3"
OUT FOR A STROLL | 2018, rusted protractor, clay, bobbin, fiber, found objects, 31/2" x 2" x 5"
Harmonica Girl
James Castle Tribute
Traveling Diva
Love My Baby
Not Too Tightly Wrapped
Don't Wait Forever
Toolhead Diva
TOY THEATRE
A Suitcase Full of Divas | paper mache, fiber, cast paper, acrylic, found objects, 5" x 1-1/2" each"
Funky February Weekend Box of Divas
TRES MUCHACHAS | clay, mexican huipile fabric, fiber, paint, wire, found objects, approx 4” x 6” x .5” each
Heads Up | African tin lantern, clay, fiber, paint, wire, plastic bag, 6" x 3" d
Swaddled, Bundled, Wrapped | clay, paper, twigs, dyed cheesecloth, fiber, paint, tin, 4" x 2" x 1"
Bundled, Swaddled, Wrapped | clay, paper, old tee shirts, fiber, twigs, cheesecloth, broken jewelry, paint, 12" x 2" x 1"
Diva | clay, old tee shirts, handprinted fabric, found objects, paint, 7" x 1.5" x 2.5"
Rabbit Diva | clay, dyed cloth, fiber, paper, paint, wire, 11" x 3" x 1"
No items found.
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No items found.
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Go Outside and Play! | game pieces, medal, wood, wire, paint, found objects, 2-1/2" x 6" x 1/2"
Why Buy the Cow When You Can Get The Milk For Free |  from the MOMPIECES series, found objects, 5-1/2 " x 1"
When You Grow Up I Hope You Have Children Just Like You #4 | vintage tin box, found objects, photo, 6" x 3" x 1/2"
Baby Diva | cast paper, found objects, vintage cheese box, toys, 14” x 5” x 3"
PLAY BLUE!
No items found.
X
No items found.
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Member Portfolio

Ellen Benson

Philadelphia, PA

Résumé

Artist Statement

Since I left my job as a bank SVP in 2002, I have been creating art nonstop! Inspired at first by boxes of old family photos and documents, I began making collages, assemblages and altered books with these very personal materials.
An inspiration for me has been the colors and folk art of Mexico and Guatemala, where I make an annual “pilgrimage” with a group that calls itself “the muchachas.” We visit woodcarvers, weavers, ceramic sculptors, mask makers and other artisans in their homes and studios, and my collections have expanded to include ethnic textiles, little books in Spanish, rusted cans and other Latin American detritus!
For a number of years I have been a member of Philadelphia’s Dumpster Divers, a group of artists which focuses on re-using cast -off pieces of the world around us to make found object art. To me and to many “divers,” art materials are everywhere, and sometimes just finding a particular item inspires a variety of projects. I look at a bottlecap on the street and see a doll’s little hat; my old paintbrushes look like legs. Cigar boxes and old drawers are really “houses” for creating a story within.
My work brings together many elements of my life: figures are made from reused materials such as plastic bags, recycled paper, old doll clothes, toys and found objects; my colorful palette, the use of masks and the paper maiche process are inspired by the exuberance of Mexico and its crafts people. My assemblages are frequently family records and memory pieces which incorporate the wall paper pattern of my childhood home, postcards from the beach town where we spent the summer, my father’s passport and ration books from World War II.
Currently I have a long-term goal of creating 1000 figures! I’ve made about 500 so far.

Artist Biography

I am a self-taught mixed media artist and longtime member of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, a group of artists that repurposes found objects and “trash” in our work.
Using recycled materials, as well as clay, paper mache, wire, fiber, tape and paint, I create assemblages, cardboard figures, dolls I call “Divas,” as well as folk art portraits, collages and memory jugs. To me, and to many “divers,” materials are everywhere—and sometimes just finding or pulling out a particular item from my stash will inspire a whole project. Old paint brushes are re-seen as “legs” or an old torn work shirt is envisioned as clothing for a figure.
The colors and folk art of Mexico and Guatemala are an inspiration for me, and I spend two months in Oaxaca every year. I recently created MY TOWN IN MEXICO out of matchboxes, bottle caps, broken mirror shards and Mexican collectibles.
I have a long-term goal of creating 1000 mixed media figures—I’ve made about 600 so far! In 2013, about 200 were displayed at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Bibliography

2013
“A Conversation with Ellen Benson,” Cloth Paper Scissors, Interweave Press, LLC, March/April 2013
2009
Found Object Art 2, Schiffer Publishing Ltd.
2006
Art Doll Quarterly, spring 2006
Art Doll Quarterly, winter 2006
American Style, August 2006
Art Doll Quarterly, summer 2006
Somerset Wedding, February 2006
Somerset Studio, January 2006
2005
Somerset Studio, January 2005
Art Doll Quarterly, fall 2005

Affiliation

Da Vinci Art Alliance
Philadelphia Sculptors
Women’s Caucus for the Arts
Mt. Airy Art Garage
Philadelphia Dumpster Divers

Exhibitions

Selected Exhibitions: 2013-2018
Philadelphia Sculptors Present: Art in City Hall October 2018, City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
Shelter: Philadelphia Sculptors at Da Vinci Art Alliance Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Re-Crafted: Found Object Art of the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, Dupree Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
The Mosaic Muse, Art at City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
Pop-Up, Globe Due Works, Philadelphia, PA
Sweet Mabel Gallery, Narberth, PA
Ellen Benson: Diva Dolls, Philadelphia International Airport, Between Terminals A-East and B, Philadelphia, PA
Arts and Re-Creation invitational, William Penn Charter School, Philadelphia, PA
Eco + Fashion, Art Gallery at City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
Archives Alchemy: The Art of the Dumpster Divers, National Archives of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Reclaim Rediscover Reanimate, Destination Frankford, Philadelphia Planning Commission, Philadelphia, PA
Lost And Found, E. O. Bull Center for the Arts, West Chester University, West Chester, PA
Finders Keepers, The Art Trust, West Chester, PA
Fragments, Shards, and Pieces: Images in Mosaic Art, Art in City Hall, Philadelphia, PA
From Ordinary To Extraordinary: The Art Of Being Green, Susquehanna Art Museum, Harrisburg, PA
2009 
- 2012
Found Objects, Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
Push-Pull-Play, Target Gallery Torpedo Factory Art Center, Alexandria, VA
Eye of the Beholder: The Fine Art of the Found Object, Maryland Federation of Art, Annapolis, MD
Honorable Mention
Toy Theatre Festival Museum, Brooklyn, NY
The Green Exhibit, Garbage Museum, Stratford, CT
Art From Found Objects, Monmouth Museum, Lincroft, NJ
Juried exhibition
Mt. Airy Art Garage, Philadelphia, PA
Found Object Art, Snyderman-Works Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
transFORMation, Hicks Art Center Gallery and Artmobile, Bucks County Community College, Newtown, PA
SURREAL ESTATE, Dumpster Diver Central Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
The Games We Play: Remade, Annex Art Gallery, Eastampton, NJ
Stretching the Spine: Books on Health and Healing, Philadelphia Center for the Book and Hahnemann University Medical Library, Philadelphia, PA
Ecologically Correct: The Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, Outsider Folk Art Gallery, Reading, PA
Re-cycling is A-MAZE-ING!, Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Dumpster Divas and Trashy Woman, Cecil County Arts Council, Elkton, MD
The State of the Garden, Noyes Museum of Art, Oceanville, NJ
And You Think That’s Funny?, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
Altered and Assembled: The Beat Goes On, Williams Center Gallery, Lafayette College, Easton, PA
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