Meet Linda

Artist Statement

I was first drawn to print with grasses when I was mesmerized by the undulating waves along a Central Minnesota highway corridor. Through years of exploring skills and materials, my unique printmaking was developed, melding many techniques and mediums.

Plant images in my landscapes are made using botanical printmaking: apply ink to a leaf, lay the inky leaf on a pigmented surface and hand-press it; remove the leaf to reveal the ink image left behind.

 At first glance, botanical printmaking may appear simplistic.  Closer study reveals my complex assimilation of painting, fiber arts, collage, and printing methods.  Backgrounds are pigmented using paint, fiber dye, or pastel techniques. Some backgrounds are pastel paintings with detailed images of sky, river, and foreground as in “Moonlight Lake;” others are more ethereal watercolor/fiber dye washes with mere hints of a waterway, as in “Dunes” and “Inspiration Pond.”

 A wide array of materials, (such as delicate tissue, mulberry paper, & heavy printing stock and fabrics including organza, muslin, linen, & hefty raw canvas) requires precise printing finesse.

 Each landscape fuses different plants, materials, and pigmentation techniques with scores of layered prints which build depth and dimension; stylistic enhancements after the printing give definition and texture.

Varying plant species are vital in compositions and my landscapes typically contain dozens of species, including tall prairie grasses, commercial specialty grasses, and lawn grasses. The myriad variations in structure can be used to represent prairies, trees, cattails, and “Reeds; printed garden rhizomes form tree canopies or a root base. Yarrow leaves and ferns become pines, as in “Yarrow Mountain.”

 My artistic objective is to engage viewers to gain an expanded perspective of prairies and wetlands, which are often disregarded as “wasteland” and promote new respect and appreciation for the nuances in native landscapes.

 Artist Bio

Botanical Printmaker, Linda Snouffer, creates landscapes in which she makes plant images using prints of fresh grasses and leaves.  Each piece uses a different combination of materials and techniques, giving her work a unique sense of place, successfully replicating the movement, colors & lighting of these natural settings.  Utilizing the structural variations of native and cultivar species, grass prints can represent meadows, cattails, and shorelines; woodland scenes can be created with yarrow leaf and fern tip prints.

Snouffer studied with artists skilled in fiber arts, acrylics, watercolors, and pastel techniques. After a two-year mentor program with the Women’s Art Resources of Minnesota (WARM), her work progressed from simple plant print motifs to multifaceted fine art. A jurist observed that he had never seen work quite like her botanical prints, remarking that she had developed unique printmaking techniques unlike any he had seen in his 35+ year career.  

Her botanical printmaking work has been recognized with numerous accolades and honors.  She was granted a 2019 Pine Needles Residency – a project of the Science Museum of Minnesota.  Commissions include work for the Hennepin County Medical Center, Women's Foundation of Minnesota, Shoreview Public Library, and many private collectors.

She served on several Arts Grant Jury Panels, has a decade of art exhibit installation experience in almost a dozen Minnesota galleries, and has held essential administration and program planning roles in Metro area arts organizations.

Her landscape compositions can be seen in The Dow Gallery in St. Paul and numerous exhibitions throughout the region.

 Customer Comments

“Linda’s prairie images are mesmerizing and calming. I can almost smell the grasses and feel the breeze.”

“I feel like I’m lying down in the grass as I look at her work.”