The Artist's Story

Ilene Palant is an award-winning graphic designer, artist, and art educator who moved from an exploration of printmaking to photography and sculpture. Always fascinated by the textures and flows of nature, she takes what some would think of as unyielding stone and turns it into forms that beckon to be touched and stroked.

After a long hiatus from her work as a sculptor, during which time she taught art in the Massapequa and Oceanside public schools, at SUNY Farmingdale, and privately, she was a designer and art director for several advertising agencies and was the design director for the School Public Relations Service of Nassau BOCES. The artist has resumed her passion for sculpture, working primarily with marble.

Ilene graduated from Hofstra University (B.S. in Education) and Adelphi University (M.A. in Studio Art—Graphics), where she studied under Richard Vaux, and attended the School of Visual Arts, Parsons School of Design, and the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she studied under Martin Solomon. She credits David Jacobs at Hofstra for getting her started with sculpture and her studies under Nina Cantrell for her introduction to and training in the use of power tools for stone carving. It opened new worlds. Her sculpture, graphics, and photography are represented in collections nationwide.

Ilene is a former member of the B. J. Spoke Gallery in Huntington, where she exhibited regularly, and the Art League of Long Island, where she also showed her work. She is currently offering a private sculpture workshop with personal instruction. Call Ilene at (516) 776-3220 for more information.