Local Artists' Work Shines At Millennium Bank

If you were to put local artist Kathleen Passi in a room with only a chair and a blank canvas for her to create artwork on, chances are it would be pretty difficult to pull her away from it.

The mostly self-taught artist loves to create. Her passion? Scratchboarding.  

Scratchboarding is a specially prepared ink-coated board into which an image is etched, revealing a white clay surface underneath. The picture can then be left white, or painted with colored inks.

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Passi has had her work featured in many art shows, galleries and events. Now residents have the chance to see her work firsthand as it will be on display throughout August at Millennium Bank in Des Plaines.  

“I’m the second artist to show here and I think it’s great,” Passi said. “We’re very happy to have it. (Millennium Bank) has been really involved in the community and working with artists and we love it.”

Passi has delved into other forms of art such as painting throughout the years, but scratchboarding has always been her area of expertise. 

 “I’ve been an artist for as long as I can remember,” Passi said. “But I started scratchboarding in high school and it was just something that I hung on to.”

Her work is incredibly detailed with intricately shaded areas which create depth and make the objects come to life. Some of her work depicts architectural details from buildings while other pieces are scenic portraits of landscapes or animals.

Passi said she loves scratchboarding, but is also interested in trying different variations with her work. “I’ve got another series in my head that I want to work on, which combines scratchboard with painting,” Passi said. “I’m really getting into painting, but I don’t want to get out of scratchboarding, so I’m thinking ‘how can I put these two together?’”

The artist added that while scratchboarding can be time-consuming, she has such a passion for it that she doesn’t keep of track of how long it takes to complete a piece and just enjoys the creative process.

“It’s such a step-by-step thing that it’s hard to keep track of,” she said.

Regardless of the time it takes to complete, friends and other artists agree that the end result is beautiful.

“Her artwork is just amazing to me,” said fellow artist Rhonda Popko. “We’ve been friends for 25 years and her work just continues to amaze me.”

Popko also has plans on having her artwork on display in the coming months at Millennium Bank and said she is looking forward to it.

“This is great for artists and it’s also great for the community and it’s good for them as a business to hold events like this,” Popko said.

Local art galleries such as these also help out the Des Plaines Art Guild, which is always looking for more ways to display their members work. The art guild promotes local artists through art fairs and events within Des Plaines and has been in existence since 1953.  

Currently, the group has about 75 members and is always looking for new artists to join.   

“It’s hard to get the word out because we don’t really have a store front or anything like that,” said Des Plaines Art Guild vice president Kristine Plum. “But we are always looking for volunteers, new members and new ideas.”

For more information on Kathleen Passi's art on display at Millennium Bank contact (847) 296-9500 

And for information on the Des Plaines Art Guild visit www.dpag.org.

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