BIO
MIRJAM SEEGER
Trained both in the painting technique for stained glass and oil on canvas, most of Mirjam’s work represents a fusion of the two very different approaches to painting.
The windows she painted for Willet Stained Glass and later for her own studio can be seen in churches and cathedrals such as St. Martin Episcopal Cathedral in Houston TX, Davidson United Methodist Church in Davidson NC , Masonic Temple in Washington DC, B’Nai Israel Synagogue in Rochester NY and regionally at the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Longport NJ, which was destroyed during Sandy - to mention a few.
Born and raised in Switzerland, Mirjam began her art education in Basel and continued it in San Francisco and Philadelphia. After many years of painting in oil, a stained glass panel she saw in Basel, sparked her interest in glass painting. She ended up working for Willet Stained Glass Studio in Philadelphia, a contemporary of La Farge and Tiffany, and stayed on as a glass painter for twenty years before starting her own studio.
Meanwhile she continues to work in oil. Many of her paintings are inspired by the landscape and geology of the Engadin mountains in Switzerland, where she spends part of the year. She has traversed the local glaciers numerous times on foot and on skis while constantly taking photos of anything she could later use in her paintings.The subjects reach from whole mountain scenery to rocks formed by the cycle of snow, ice and melt.
Her other work represents impressions from travel to Normandy, Japan, Death Valley and objects (leaves) found in nature around her home in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania.
Each of her paintings is originally inspired by landscapes, stones, leaves and other things found in her natural surroundings. They reflect change in landscapes, weather, life cycles and more. Mirjam uses these natural sources as a point of departure for her semi-abstract work.