Born into a blue collar family, Nancy Tobin never had formal artist training.  While growing up, her main inspiration was Disney cartoons, especially the backgrounds. 

“I’ve done art all my life,” she said. “I studied illustration and graphic design and for the last 10 years I’ve concentrated on being a fine artist."

She finds her muse in nature, in the world we see everyday.  “I like the juxtaposition of the beautiful and the creepy," she said. "A lovely flower with a scary bug, for example.”

Tobin, a Midwest native, lived in San Francisco for years before moving to Maplewood in 2001. She opened a show of her work at Furbish Home on Saturday night. The show runs through Dec. 7. Tobin’s work is in the collection of 10 New Jersey museums, including: Jane Voorhees Zimmereli Art Museum at Rutgers University; Montclair Art Museum; Morris Museum; and Newark Museum.

The Furbish show encompasses some of her 2004-05 painting on paper and collages as well as more recent mixed media panels.   These newest, mixed media creations have as many as 100 separate levels of images, separated by acrylic media.

And how did the show come about? Tobin read about Uma Stewart in a local publications and liked her style, so she added her to a regular mailing list.  Stewart showed up during a Maplewood Artist Tour and soon invited her to exhibit at the gallery.

There are 20 pieces in the show, with prices ranging from about $100-$5,600.  Small matted prints run about $20.

Jorg Windau, of South Orange, has been a fan of Tobin’s ever since he first came across her work during an artists’ tour.  “I bought a print several years ago, and I’m planning to buy another as a gift for my wife.  But don’t tell her. It’s a secret,” he winked.

Michael Stewart, who owns Furbish with his wife, Uma, said, “We’re really excited to have Nancy’s work here, Seeing it on the walls of the shop is amazing. People are enjoying the exhibit. One of our aims here at Furbish is to showcase local artists’ work, and support our community. "