About Lois and . . .

Lois Bender combines her background in art direction and graphic design with her creative talents in photo illustration and painting to create a fresh synthesis of styles for the design industries and retail markets.

Her GardenSpirits Design imagery (her photo syntheses) grew out of her Retail Gift Industry experience and love of nature. She was an Art Director for the Godiva Chocolates Brand where she developed her product and graphic design expertise. She flourished as she learned letterpress and the art of bookmaking. Her handmade books and journals developed into her stationery gift line "TeaQuotes and GardenSpirits," a gift collection devoted to the pleasures of Tea and Gardens. Her stationery and designs are currently sold at many fine retailers like Takashimaya NY.

Lois grew up in Woodmere, NY and
knew she would be an artist very early on, painting flowers at 5 years old. A graduate of Hunter College (BA) and Boston Univ. (MFA), Lois does freelance design and custom illustration for clients and sells her Design Collections to Wholesale and Retail Customers and the Home Design Industry. She teaches art and watercolor privately in the Hamptons at The Sag Harbor Florist where she shares her love of flowers and watercolors and at Gurney's Inn, Montauk taking in the beaches, sunsets and well-being.

About GardenSpirits

GardenSpirits Designs represents Lois' collection of imagery celebrating art and nature. With nature as her inspiration, she creates a fusion of color, silhouette, light, shadow and pattern, a visual mixture of dynamic design, image and mystery.

There's almost a genealogy to Lois' love
of nature since she is the daughter of Flora Bloom who loved nature and all things spiritual and also the granddaughter of Hortense (Hortis is garden in Latin). With this "GardenSpirits" pedigree, Lois creates fusions of photography, saturated color, printmaking and design, shaping transparencies and silhouettes, lights and shadows into mysterious relationships. Her translucent vellum stationery and resin plastic materials express her passion for translucent surfaces and lighting effects.

Whether into photography or painting, Lois has an eye for the energy, synergy and the feel of her subjects...whether flowers, gardens, botany or landscape scenes, etc.. Her life view changed dramatically after a major turning point in her life happened 20 years ago when she survived leukemia, a very transforming experience! In gratitude and appreciation, her art began to express well-being and the urgency of seeing the beauty around us. Seeing and using our eyes to enjoy what's around us...and being creative....it's all healing! And her art and design is all about sharing this vision of well-being and the beauty of GardenSpirits.