Liz Madsen - 2011 Mankato Marathon Commemorative Print Artist

The selection of the 2011 Mankato Marathon Commemorative print was competitive with several worthy entries, but Liz Madsen’s entry rose to the top and was chosen as this year’s artist for the Mankato Marathon Commemorative print.

Madsen, a freelance graphic artist with a studio near Rapidan, Minnesota, always tries to create a story in her prints - giving the viewer an opportunity to see or dream of a place they might have been or could visit.  In creating the print for the Mankato Marathon, Madsen wanted to capture several Mankato images so she chose a method of digital collage to tell her story.

The first layer of the collage consists of places one could visit in Mankato; the second captures runners from the inaugural 2010 Mankato Marathon; and the third and final layer incorporates nature and color.

“I carefully merge these layers creating an illusion or story for the viewer to relate with,” said Madsen.  “In this print’s story, I used local images beneath the layer of runners, hoping to give the runner a feel of hometown camaraderie.”

Madsen wants people to notice some particular parts of the 2011 Mankato Marathon print: the Minnesota State University bell tower represents the start of the marathon; the Depot represents  the finish; the greenery and trees surrounding the runners depicts the Red Jacket Trail; the inaugural 2010 marathon runners merging to form and create larger runners depicts the 2011 race and its growth in numbers; and finally the FINISH depicts the accomplishment of runners reaching their goal and completing the marathon.

The method Madsen uses in creating this print is an eco-friendly image transfer process.  She uses a computer to manipulate the layers to develop the imagery of the print.  After the merging step, the image is printed onto a transfer plate that she rubs onto a fine art rag stock paper. She gets only one image transfer from each plate. That is where the monoprint component of the transfer originates.  She recycles the used plates to create new imagery prints for her Remnant Series.