H M Balchunas

Somerville, MA

Creating art has always been a focal point for a majority of my life.  I received my Associate Degree from Greenfield Community College in 1994 and a BFA in illustration from Massachusetts College of Art in 1997. I, currently, live in Somerville, MA and have a studio at Vernon Street Studios. My approach to art is eclectic in nature which can best be seen through artistic influences such as Georgia O’Keefe, Kandinsky, Edward Hopper, Brian Froud, and Abe Morell. As a result, this varied culmination of inspirations, for me, can take forms and guises.

 

Led into other directions, Balchunas has found additional ways in involved herself within the art community--through her previous work at the Puppet Showplace Theatre, collaborations with Vernon Street Studios & Somerville Open Studios, and through her current position at the Somerville Art Council.  To her, everything is relative. Whether it is puppet construction, theater, set design, painting, or photography one creative process influences another.

Each process provides a creative dance with one another. Whether used separately or together they provide a vehicle drives each unique project that in turn allows her to grow as an artist. "It is all about the process," she says-- "the learning and the struggling to find inspiration so that by the end you've enjoyed the journey."