Ursula Cain-Jordan is a retired social worker. At a retirement planning workshop in the
early 1990s, a long buried desire to
draw was rekindled when it was suggested that you do something in retirement
that you have always wanted to do, but never did. In preparation for the transition, Ursula
began taking classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Baltimore
in 1996. She found drawing to be a
relaxing departure from child welfare work.
The first retirement occurred in 1997.
Ursula retired for the second time in 2005 in order to devote more time
to art.
In addition to the continuing education fine arts program at
MICA, Ursula has learned from various workshops and classes lead by established
artists. Many of these programs were
provided by the Harford Community
College or the Harford Artists Association. Recent work has been greatly influenced by a
three day collage workshop in Bethany Beach Delaware
in 2007.
Although Ursula works in various mediums, she primarily painted
in watercolors for about four years. The
goal in all of Ursula’s work is to capture an essence of life that will touch
the viewer. Subject matter has included
flowers, landscapes, portraits and figurative work.
In 2006, Ursula was inspired by magazine ads to do a paper
collage. This work was followed by a
second collage that combined craft paper and acrylics in the composition.
Some new work is an integration of the collage process with
the themes previously painted in watercolor.
The mixed media process involves the layering of paper including
newspaper, tissue and other paper.
Images in acrylics are painted on top of the paper. The result is mix of colors and textures that
add an abstract quality to the finished work.
Themes in all of my work, regardless of the medium are often
influenced by social struggles, politics, and culture.
