Member Spotlight: Linda Popp
- Ruoxia
- 1h
- 3 min read
Linda Popp is a relatively new, but very active member of the York Art Association (YAA). Since joining in 2024, she has participated in several exhibitions, including a solo show, and taught a workshop on collage and assemblage techniques.
As an artist who works with found-object assemblage, Linda initially wondered if her work would have a place at YAA. She was pleasantly surprised to discover how much YAA celebrates different forms and styles of artwork. “Being a former art teacher and administrator, I truly love how YAA offers opportunities for young people and children to get involved.”
For Linda, creating assemblage art is about much more than putting objects together. It is about developing an idea, finding the objects that will become part of a work-in-progress, and allowing the piece to unfold. “I don’t know what it will look like until I am finished,” she says.
There is a sense of serendipity in her process. Sometimes, someone will bring her an assortment of objects, and among them will be exactly the item she needs for a work-in-process.
But at the heart of Linda’s work are stories.
Many of her pieces center around a person and their memories. She began this body of work about 25 years ago with a piece about her mother. Her second piece focused on her uncle, a family patriarch who had hosted countless nieces and nephews at his farm when she was growing up. As Linda worked on the piece, she took the opportunity to ask him questions and learn more about his life. She discovered that he was a decorated war veteran, something she had never known. “You never asked,” he told her. He shared personal objects with Linda, knowing they would become part of an artwork that would live on after he was gone. Through the process, Linda says, she came to know her uncle in a new way, and their relationship was transformed. That connection to people and their stories continues in Linda’s teaching.
During her recent workshop, Elaborating the Narrative of a Personal Photograph With Collage/Assemblage Techniques, participants created artwork inspired by their own memories and photographs. “They took risks, learned from each other, accepted challenges, and made creative solutions. Each artwork was as unique as the artist and the stories they were telling”.
Workshop participant Carol Stowell reflected on her experience creating Seeds of My Jungle Wanderlust, a piece inspired by memories of her childhood life in Surinam South America.
“Just thinking about each part of it, it was a healing process,” Carol shared.
Linda’s work creates these opportunities for connection - not only between the artist and the people whose stories she preserves, but also between the artwork and those who experience it. A familiar object can spark a memory, while some of her interactive pieces invite viewers to open, turn, and explore.
Although Linda lives in Maryland, she says York feels increasingly like part of her artistic community. “The more I get to know people here, the more I get involved. It’s fun… I feel like I am really beginning to connect with this artistic community.”
We are so grateful to have Linda as part of the York Art Association. Her art reminds us that sometimes the most meaningful stories are found in the objects, memories, and people we carry with us.
Written by Ruoxia Li, YAA Office Administrator
Interested in joining as a member?
Contact the office at 717-755-0028 or at office@yorkartassociation.org
