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Linda Stephen, Owner and Designer
Linda Stephen has more than 25 years experience in origami, the Japanese art of paper folding. Fluent in Japanese and passionate about Japanese paper, Stephen studied Japanese art and worked in rural Japan for seven years.
In 2003, she turned her love of invention and paper folding into an art business. Her award-winning origami art landscapes are now part of public and private collections around the world from the City of Omihachiman in Japan to the JW Marriott Hotel’s “sister city” collection in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Her work is a variation on the ancient art of origami. To create stylized scenes that reflect a place, she spends hours choosing papers for color and texture or in “R&D” inventing new origami elements to fit a scene. Just as a piece of paper can be folded into an airplane or a flower, the possibilities for each of us are endless. Her art reflects the joys of life and the preciousness of each day and each season.
Since 2004, her award-winning art works have been selected to more than 30 juried shows or exhibits including The Museum of the Hudson Highlands, the American Crafts Festival, the White Plains Outdoor Art Festival, the Westchester County Federation of Women’s Clubs Beaux Arts Finale, the Lincoln Arts Festival and the Association of Nebraska Arts Clubs’ Annual Art Exhibit. In 2010, she was one of 11 Nebraska artists selected by the Nebraska Arts Council for the Governor’s Residence Exhibition.
She has more than 10 years of experience teaching students ages 5 to 65 in the community and at organizations that include the Lux Center for the Arts, Bright Lights, Creighton University’s Gifted & Talented Summer Program, the Big Rapids Festival of the Arts, the University of Missouri-Columbia, The Japan Center for Michigan Universities (Hikone, Shiga, Japan), Ryukoku University (Kyoto, Japan) and Omi Brotherhood Schools (Omihachiman, Japan).
Stephen has more than 15 years experience in communications advising multinational corporations, United Nations agencies, authors and nonprofits promoting ideas that make the world a better place for future generations.
She holds a Master of Arts degree in international journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a Bachelor of Arts in French, summa cum laude, with minors in business, mathematics and music from Northern Michigan University, where she was chosen “Outstanding Graduate” by the Michigan Association of State University Boards and honored as one of the Top 10 graduates in the State of Michigan by Michigan Woman.
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Masaya Honda, Paper Engineer
Masaya Honda, is a native of Azuchi, Japan, a historic castle town north of Kyoto on Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake. A philosopher focusing on Eastern and Western traditions, he is inspired by views and creations that encourage inner thoughts.
While in Japan, Honda served as a Shorinji Kempo martial art instructor for six years. He holds Master of Arts and Bachelor of Arts degrees in philosophy from Japan’s oldest Buddhist University: Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan; and a Master of Arts degree in philosophy from Fordham University in New York.
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History
Linda Stephen and Masaya Honda founded Sol Cards, Inc. in Mamaroneck, New York in 2003 to provide original cards, invitations, art and gifts that bring the blessing of sunshine to joyful, ordinary and sad times.
Linda, a native of Michigan, and Masaya, a native of Michigan's sister state in Japan, met near Japan's largest lake in the rural prefecture of Shiga, just north of Kyoto, Japan’s culture capital.
For more than 20 years, Linda has been creating her own cards and stationery -- using media such as burnt firewood on birch bark, blackberry juice sketches with sticks and embroidering on paper. In Japan, she fell in love with Japanese handmade papers (washi, yuzen, (chiyogami) -- the quintessence of Japanese design that have brightened the household interiors of common and royal Japanese houses for the last 1,000 years.
In a world of 24 X 7 work demands, virtual relationships and increasing cultural uniformity, a Sol Cards' handcrafted card or origami collage celebrates and honors the uniqueness of each individual and each city.
We look forward to our coming correspondence with you.
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Exhibits
Our origami landscapes and gifts have been accepted at juried exhibits that include:
"Cranefest 2010" Art Walk and Exhibit for Annual Sandhill Cranes Migration, Minden, Neb. (March 2010)
Featured artist, Noyes Art Gallery, Lincoln, Neb. (November 2009)
Association of Nebraska Art Clubs' 2009 Annual Conference and Art Exhibit, Kearney, Neb. (June 2009)
First Plymouth Congregational Church, group show, Lincoln, Neb. (June 2009)
"Art & Wine," Solo Exhibit, Blue Cow Cafe, Big Rapids, Mich. (March 2009)
"Cranefest 2009" Art Walk and Exhibit, Minden Chamber of Commerce for Sandhill Cranes Migration, Minden, Neb. (March 2009)
12th Annual Art & Soup Festival, Omaha, Neb. Group show of 30 artists for Visiting Nurse Association. (February 2009)
Noyes Art Gallery Focus Exhibit "Asia-inspired," group show, Lincoln, Neb. (December 2008)
Nebraska Club, Mixed media exhibit with Suxan Anderson, Lincoln, Neb., (July - August 2008)
Association of Nebraska Art Clubs' 2008 Annual Conference and Art Exhibit, Aurora, Neb. (June 4-7, 2008)
Big Rapids Festival of the Arts, Solo Exhibit and Guest Artist, Big Rapids City Hall (February 14-28, 2008)
First Plymouth Congregational Church, Lincoln, NE, Solo Exhibit (January 2008)
Crescent Moon Coffee & Galleries,
816 P Street Lincoln, NE (October and November 2007)
41st Annual Cathedral Art Show, Cathedral of the Risen Christ, Lincoln, NE (September 2007)
Noyes Art Gallery, Featured Artist, Lincoln, NE (July 2007)
Focus Gallery, Noyes Art Gallery, Lincoln, NE (February 2007)
6th Annual Lincoln Arts Festival, Lincoln, NE (September 2006) – Featured artist
40th Annual Cathedral Art Show, Cathedral of the Risen Christ, Lincoln, NE (September 2006)
Women’s Week Art Show, Rotunda Gallery, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE (March 2006)
43rd Annual White Plains Outdoor Arts Festival, White Plains, NY (June 2005)
– Second place, mixed media
Beaux Arts Finale, Westchester County Federation of Women’s Clubs Annual Exhibition Pleasantville, NY (May 2005) – First place, mixed media
Harrison Library Gallery, Harrison, NY (solo exhibit, 2005)
Winter Exhibition Show, GR Gallery Exhibit, Mamaroneck, NY (February 2005)
The Westchester Women’s Club of White Plains Art Exhibition (October 2004)
- First place, mixed media
New Rochelle Art Association Annual Juried Exhibition, New Rochelle, NY (October 2004)
Larchmont Fine Arts Festival, Larchmont, NY (September 2004)
42nd Annual Juried White Plains Outdoor Arts Festival, White Plains, NY (June 2004)
“Third Annual Women Artists of the Hudson Valley,” The Museum of the Hudson Highlands, Cornwall, NY (April 2004)
Westchester Art Center, White Plains, NY (December 2003)
Larchmont Fine Arts Festival, Larchmont, NY (September 2003)
Third Annual American Crafts Festival, New Rochelle, NY (August 2003)
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