Edith Bingham grew up in Philadelphia where she was encouraged to pursue her interest in art by family and teachers. She has been in New England since 1969 when she began her studies at the Boston Museum School.  Edith has worked in commercial illustration and fine art for over twenty years. Her interests include farming, gardening, and weaving. She works in many different media including oil, watercolor, and hand weaving. She has lived and traveled in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East where she has often found inspiration in the local arts and customs.  She first tried paper cutting in 1988. She has used the paper cut medium in various commercial illustration projects including illustrations for The Civil War Era, a two volume book by Harold Holzer, published by Cobblestone Press in 1998.  “Paper cutting is a unique and challenging medium. The viewer is invited into an intricate and poetic world of symmetry and asymmetry. I usually take themes from folklore or scenes of rural life, children, animals, or gardening. I also take on historic, tragic, or political subjects.” Among her other published works is The Poetry Break by Caroline Feller Bauer published by HW Wilson in 1994. The anthology of poems for children includes over a hundred of Edith's pen and ink illustrations. In 2002 Edith and her husband, Philip Bragdon, and their son, Owen, traveled to live and work in Azerbaijan. During their year and a half in this remote region of southwestern Asia, Edith and Philip collected Azeri folktales, made friends, and attended cultural festivals including several weddings. In addition to observing the culture up close, Edith took carpet weaving lessons and sketched Azeri life in the cities as well as in villages and other remote areas of the country. As a member of the International Women's Group of Azerbaijan, Edith did volunteer work in orphanages, and gave weekly art classes for the kids.  Edith has enjoyed living in the Shelburne Falls area since 2006.   HOME