Collage & Assemblage

About the Artists

The National Collage Society, Inc. is an art foundation formed to foster the appreciation and interest in the art medium of collage. Collage in the third dimension is called assemblage. The NCS, Inc. promotes the advancement of collage as a major art medium and assists in the education of the public through exhibits, workshops, lectures and publications.

Alexander Aitkin, Medina OH
Alexander Aitkin, MFA, Ohio University, is a working artist and Art Instructor at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. His collages are created using images created from his original photographs. His work is in the permanent collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Marshall School of Law art Cleveland State.

Gretchen Bierbaum, Hudson OH
Gretchen Bierbaum is the founder of the National Collage Society, Inc. and fifteen regional groups around the USA. She has degrees, B.A., M.A. from Kent State University. Gretchen is the author of two books about collageand has work in the permanent collections at the Butler Institute of American Art, and the Artcolle Museum in France.

Shirley Ende-Saxe, Cuyahoga Falls OH
Shirley Ende-Saxe taught art in a variety of settings for 36 years. She is interested in intersections: past and present, fine art and domestic processes, collage and poetry.

Marcia Mazak, Akron OH
Marcia has exhibited in juried exhibits through-out the United States. Her work has been included in juried shows at the Museum of New Mexico, Santa Fe, The Akron Art Museum, Akron, Ohio and The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH. Among her awards are Best in Show at The All Ohio Annual Juried Exhibit at Ohio State University at Mansfield, Best in Show at Montgomery (AL) Arts Festival, Best in Show in the Fourth Army Traveling Exhibit.

Janet Noden, Ravenna OH
After Jan earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education, her love of watercolor motivated her to also pursue a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Painting. Based on the quality of her work over several years, the Ohio Watercolor Society and the National Collage Society inducted her as a signature member. Although she continues to explore the possibilities of water media, new ideas have enticed her to explore collage and mono-types. Her artwork in these various media has been exhibited and won awards in local, state, and national competitions.

George S. Schroeder, Hiram OH
George Schroeder has exhibited collages, drawings and paintings since 1959. Highlights include solo shows of collages and drawings at the Maison de la Culture in Orleans, France, and of collages at the Kentler International Drawing Space in Brooklyn, New York. He received his B.F.A. and M.F. A. degrees from Kent State University. He is Emeritus Professor of Art at Hiram College where he taught for more than forty years. He lives in a century farmhouse in Hiram, Ohio.

Mary Stone, Cleveland OH
Although Mary Stone’s family has deep roots in Ohio, she moved here to Cleveland only in 2004. Mary is a signature member of Texas, Kansas, and Oklahoma Watercolor Societies as well as a full member of the Society of Layerists in Multimedia . Now she works abstractly in acrylic with collage as the dominant element. Mary holds a B.A. degree from Vassar College, and a M.A. from New York University.

Gwen Waight, Peninsula OH
Gwen has been doing collage and assemblage for about ten years, when she moved to Ohio. She holds a degree in sculpture from The University of Iowa and grew up working in her father’s pottery studio. Gwen enjoys the discovery of found objects and ephemera using both to create mostly three dimensional work but sometimes two dimensional as well. She has shown her work throughout the nation and has received awards from these shows.

Nola Weiss, Hudson OH
Nola, a Hudson resident, attended the Cleveland Institute of Art. She has created a body of work with collages containing computer components. Her work appeared in many juried NCS exhibits and also in the book, Collage in All Dimensions. Her works are held in private and corporate collections.

Marge Widmar, Westlake OH
B.S., M.A. KSU + 40 Hrs. KSU/Blossom, Miami U., CSU, BW, U. of Hartford. Retired Art Educator Bay Village City School District; Evening School Instructor Cleveland Institute of Art; Adjunct Faculty Lorain County Community College.

Jean Deemer, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio
Jean Deemer’s work is derived from her interest in layered time, the geological forces of nature and those made by man. From chaos comes beauty, a reminder that our planet Earth continues to evolve leaving marks in time.