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I'm Tiana Traffas and I'm an artist. I created this blog to share my work with you. Here you'll find studio tours, in progress works, news series, frustrations, and flow state musings.

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La Crosse Symphony Orchestra Poster Art Contest

Updated: Aug 19, 2023


The La Crosse Symphony Orchestra is celebrating 125 years! To mark the occasion, they put out a call to local artists for a poster art contest. My piece is being shown at River City Gallery this month along with all of the other submissions. Voting for the Winner and the People's Choice Awards starts on Friday, August 4th from 4-7 pm.  Stop by for a lovely evening of music by a member of the Orchestra and enjoy treats from Meringue Bakery!


The contest and people's choice winners will be announced on August 17th.


I am really proud of my piece and excited for the show! You will have to stop by the gallery to see the completed artwork, but here are some work-in-progress shots. If you stop by, be sure to vote for your favorite! (Of course, I would be honored if you voted for mine.) This is a great option to support local art without spending a dime!


I hope to see you there!



Artist Statement for my piece, Legato:

A confluence of music and art is in my blood. My grandmother played the viola and violin. My grandfather loved symphonies. They met in their college choir. When my grandpa would pick my sister and I up for a visit, he would fill the car with Brahms, Beethoven, or Mahler. We would drive over the river and through the bluffs while the music swelled and complemented the scenes outside my window. These fleeting memories and the beauty of nature are what comes to mind when I hear an orchestra. I wanted to imbue this piece with the magic of music and our beautiful landscape.


Local plants of mullein, nettle, and yarrow were boiled into a tea and the paper was stained in layers to create an antiqued and classical look. I dipped dried local foliage, a discarded viola tuner, and the bow of a violin in India ink and pulled them across the page to capture the movements of a playing musician. I marked the page intuitively with the tempo of symphonies filling my studio and guiding my hand. 


A single black pencil was used to capture shadow and light. The levitating figures are suspended in a moment of music-making. My goal was to capture the poetry, movement, and emotion displayed by the La Crosse Symphony Orchestra. 



Staining the paper with locally harvested herbs

Work-in-progress

Legato | Tiana Traffas | herbal tea, india ink, pencil on paper. Marked by viola tuner, violin bow, and local plants

Voting has begun, vote for me here:



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