About

Andy Krebs is an artist and illustrator based in Kent, Ohio. She is experienced in a broad range of mediums including painting, drawing, murals, printmaking, and various fabric dyeing techniques. Her work is broadly focused on the relationships between humans and the rest of our natural world. Through Good Ground Art and Ecology, she offers workshops covering a range of art and ecological themes to better connect people with the nature, each other, and themselves.

Artist Statement

Over the last few years, my work has shifted from predominantly paintings to other art forms and new mediums. I am on a continual search for the materials and processes that feel the best, are the most authentic to me, and help me connect with the natural world.

I have recently been working with block printing and natural dyes. I love printmaking because of the tactile process of carving blocks, and it’s such a fun surprise to print a new block for the first time. The subjects of my current prints are plants native to Ohio, each with ecological contributions, and many of which grow in my own yard.

Natural dyeing has truly been such a joy to discover. With the exception of indigo, I create each natural dye myself. That means I collect plant materials like leaves, bark, and roots, process those materials, and make dye baths from them. As much as possible, I use plant material that has fallen naturally or that is being discarded. My neighbors now find me digging through their brush piles and walking home with armloads of branches.

When I dye clothing, I find interesting, natural-fiber pieces from thrift shops. I then process them and dye them by hand, sometimes also block printing on them. Not only are they each unique and with their own histories, but they are also upcycled from existing materials. 

With illustration work, I usually combine several traditional mediums and techniques. I use multiple types of paint, line drawings, collage, and even fabric. I have the most fun with subject matter than includes plants, creatures, faces, and patterns.