Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Shahada

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Tap! Tap!

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Structure for Remembered Fragments

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Populate with Awe my Solitude

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

X Over

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

In the Spirit of the Wood

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Yungu Rafiki Nyoka

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Divination with Petals

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Ascent

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

Embedded Miracles

Courtesy of Nancy Jo Mullen

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Printmaker Nancy Jo Mullen knew that she wanted to make art from the early age of 5, when her parents hired a pastel artist to draw her portrait.

"He looked like the adult that was having the most fun in my life, and I thought, I think that's really what I'd like to do, too," Mullen laughs.

Despite the pressure on her to pursue math and science as she was growing up in the 1950s, Mullen followed her dreams in college and received two degrees in fine arts. She taught at Southern Oregon University and became a professional artist in the Rogue Valley.

But for Mullen, art was always a balancing act between her responsibilities as a wife, mother and teacher and finding time to pursue her art. Over the years, she managed to squeeze in time for her printmaking, often late at night at the kitchen table.

Now, after years of pursuing her art on the side, Mullen says she is finding great joy in her printmaking and the opportunity to focus on her art the way that she has always wanted to.

Learn more about Nancy Jo Mullen on Oregon Art Beat.