book artist
papermaker
paper sculptor   

A walk in the woods provides the inspiration for my work. I always carry a small baggie to collect precious treasures that I love weaving into my art.  

I am a papermaker, book artist, and paper sculptor focusing on the natural world for my source of inspiration and materials. My current work reimagines handmade paper and deconstructed books as sculptural elements. I invite viewers to examine their relationships with and between paper, wood, and trees and connections to our natural world. I use paper to create trees and tree-based elements of artistic means.

Oak trees are a common theme in my completed pieces. Oak leaves, barks, twigs, and other found natural objects insert their way into my creative process. To me, all the small details matter. Each mark, stitch, and cut is intentional and yet created in the moment. I allow the meditative quality of handwork to form and finish each piece.

As a papermaker, I integrate plants as accents and dyes into recycled fibers for my papers. I often use plants considered invasive or ubiquitous around my home, and I source recycled papers and fabrics that would otherwise be trashed.

I create artist books with many of the same natural elements. The book - as art - shares many interests in one medium. My books encourage further exploration of what we expect from a book and how these expectations can be manipulated. 

I also form paper sculptures, often replicating flowers and other natural objects. Each piece is formed one-by-one, each unique. My sculptures ask viewers to entertain the versatility of paper as an art form. 

My educational background includes art and writing degrees. I also hold the Book Arts Certificate from Minnesota Center for the Book Arts.

I live in Lodi, Wisconsin, in the rolling hills north of Madison. My husband, Dean Allen, is a sculptor. Together we own and operate D Squared Studios, a studio and creative space where we seek to share our work and skills with others.

I am happy to create commissions upon request. If you see a piece that interests you, please contact me.

Contact

Reach me at danaslowiak [at] gmail.com
or 608*695*1231.

SELECT EXHIBITION HISTORY

• Third Annual Book Arts Exhibition, Friedli Gallery, St. Paul, MN. April 5-May 25, 2024

• Solo Exhibition, Lodi Public Library, Lodi, WI. September 2023

• Pulp: Wood, Paper, and Print, Center for the Visual Arts, Wausau, WI. May-July 2022

• Art on the Trail, La Lunita II, Gibraltar Rock Segment of the Ice Age Trail. May 2019

• Art that Blooms, Portage Center for the Arts, Portage, WI. June 2019

• Buttercream Bakery, Solo Exhibition of Recent Works, Lodi, WI. June 2019

• Midwest Paper Fest, Town Square, Green Lake, WI. October 2019

• Art on the Trail, La Lunita, Gibralter Rock Segment of the Ice Age Trail. May 2018

• Arnold Grummer's Midwest Paper Fest
  Town Square, Green Lake, WI. October 2018.

• High Fiber II, as part of the Threaded Streams Fibers Arts Trail, D Squared Studios. March 2018

• Arnold Grummer's Midwest Paper Fest
  Town Square, Green Lake, WI. October 2017

• Open Gallery at D Squared Studios, July-August 2017

• High Fiber, as part of the Threaded Streams Fibers Arts Trail, D Squared Studios. March 2017

• artsTribe (Reunion): D Squared Studios. July 2016

• Dana Slowiak & Dean Allen: Recent Works, D Squared Studios Grand Opening. May 2016

• Anything Goes: An exhibition exploring what paper and books can be, Gelsy Verna Gallery, Art Lofts, UW Madison, WI. April 2015

AS MEMBER OF artsTRIBE

• Cover to Cover, Overture Center for the Arts and Dane County Public Libraries, Madison, WI. 2011-2012

• SEED: Celebrating Farming Through Art, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI. 2009

• Blue, Pyle Center, UW-Madison, 2008

• O Fortuna! Interpretations of Carmina Burana, Overture Center for the Arts, Madison, WI. 2007

COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS

• Art on the Trail, La Lunita, Gibralter Rock Segment, May 4-31, 2018. www.artontheiceagetrail.org

• From China to Madison: Crossing Cultural Bridges, Overture Center for the Arts, 2008

• Reflections of the Northside, Overture Center for the Arts, 2008

• Turning Points Mosaic Mural, Lussier Community Education Center, Lead Artist, 2007-2009

• Kids’ Garden Mosaic Fence, Troy Gardens, Supporting Artist, 2006

OTHER PROJECTS

• The Capital Times Art Project, State Street, Madison, 2007