MAUREEN BENNET
(art director/graphic designer for Just One Angel)

“En Masse”

In this day of desktop publishing and mass electronic mailings, and help from iphoto, photoshop, illustrator, shutterfly, scanners, printers - you name it - the art of card making begins and ends with the push of a button.  When I was young, there was rarely a photo of me without my eight brothers and sisters in it.  Once a year we would capture that quintessential image in black and white.  The photo that sort of summed up the year was the Christmas family photo.  My mother was the gentle “art director, wardrobe stylist, head writer and photographer,” who created the look and "mass produced" every mailing.  She would pen a poem with exquisite calligraphy and make each card individually by hand.  Always in the message, she would shed light on the "true" meaning of the season.  Some years we were the Holy Family and other years, as our family grew and grew, we formed a pyramid resembling that of a Christmas tree.  My vivid memory of Christmas was the recorded “en masse” holiday card.  

I carry on this tradition to this day, with a little help from modern technology!

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Maureen is a fine artist who works in several mediums including pastels, charcoal, oil, acrylics and collage.  As one of her many community endeavors, Maureen created the global traveling art project known as Peace by Piece.  Inspired after 9/11, the project continues to involve thousands of participants creating canvases expressing personal statements about peace.  As a teaching artist and creative consultant at Mercy Center in the South Bronx, NY, Maureen has been awarded numerous grants to support her use of art as a transformative force for struggling women.  She was the recipient of the Circle of Mercy Award in 2008 for over 15 years of service.  Maureen has also worked for many years as an art director and graphic designer.