Fit to Print

Feb. 22, 2015

Meredith "Merf" Krell is widely recognized for her bright colorful prints that often induce smiles. "A lot of my work has humor coming through it," she explains. "That’s the way I live. My work reflects that."

Krell and her husband Steve Toornman are an award-winning artistic team that creates in their studio near Charlevoix. While she’s worked with several media in the past, Krell has focused on printmaking of late. "I was working in color pencils at the time and my hands simply gave out," she recalls. "And they took forever to do. Someone suggested that I do prints. I tried it, liked it and I’ve been doing them ever since."

Krell uses linoleum, a combination of ground cork powder and linseed oil, with a burlap backing. It’s about an eighth of an inch thick and has an icy smoothness. Using very sharp tools, she expertly carves into the linoleum creating the image she desires. Her subjects are often everyday scenes – foods, dogs, plants, birds, and horses are common topics.

After the print is dried, Krell adds watercolor details that depth and beauty."I’m getting better at adding color," she says. "Color is hard. It takes years to do right. Color is amazing."

So where did that Merf nickname come from? "I had a niece who couldn’t pronounce Meredith," she says with a laugh."

HOW I GOT STARTED

Drawing a horse with crayons when very young.

THE STORY BEHIND MY ART, MY INSPIRATION

A very large percentage of the work that I do is based on my experiences of simple everyday life or from my travels; the finished art becomes a visual diary. A subtle humor finds its way into many of my images, incorporated either as subject manner, form or color. I see my artwork as straightforward and very literally communicated to the viewer. Life, to me, is more often humorous than not, and my child self has a lot to do with how I see the world. Picasso said, "All children are artists, the trick is how to remain an artist when one grows up."

WORK I’M MOST PROUD OF

There are a few prints and paintings that I still look at in awe, but I am still learning, so I am generally most proud of my most recent work.

YOU WON’T BELIEVE

I moved north to Charlevoix over 30 years ago with no money, no job and no prospects. I did have my grandmother’s old house to live in, where I still am today. I simply fell in love the area and never regretted the move.

MY FAVORITE ARTIST

Wayne Thiebaud

ADVICE FOR ASPIRING ARTISTS

Art is your own. No one can take that away from you. Never ever, ever give up.

MY WORK CAN BE SEEN/PURCHASED

Bier Art Gallery in Charlevoix; Crooked Tree Arts Center in Petoskey; Michigan Artists Gallery in Suttons Bay; Good Goods in Saugatuck; Freshwater Gallery in Boyne City and Paige Wiard Gallery in Calumet.