Friday, April 8, 2016

Residency in Nebraska

This is the big news that I've been sitting on for a few weeks... I'm heading to Nebraska for a residency later this Summer!

Those of you who've been following along will remember that I've been struggling off and on for months to learn the intricacies of mixing ink and printing multiple-layer transparent color work. I've been mildly successful, but there's a learning curve that I just don't seem able to climb on my own.

As I asked around, several in the printmaking world have told me that "all I need to do" is to study with Karen Kunc. One of them went so far as to say, "If you see anyone doing transparent color work with any level of skill, you can bet that they studied with Karen."

One of the compelling reasons to attend SGCI was to meet her in person and discuss a residency. We did meet and, as had been conveyed to me, she is very friendly. Seeing her work in person was a treat. Photos and computer monitors cannot begin to convey the richness and depth of her colors. Out of the hundreds of portfolios that I saw, her prints contained the deepest and most intricate color work by far.

[Karen Kunc at the Open Portfolios]

Karen is well known on the West Coast because she used to travel here to teach at Atelier Meridian and in other studios. In 2013 she finished renovating a building in Lincoln, Nebraska to create Constellation Studios. I can't wait to see it in person, but the photos that I've seen show an impressive facility with workshops for print, paper making and book binding, gallery space, and guest housing for visiting artists.

Since founding Constellation, Karen seems to have been traveling less to teach in other people's spaces. Instead, she has energetically created programs and opportunities for artists in her own studio while doing her own work. I am quite sure that the timing of this opportunity has a great deal to do with my success at securing it. At less than three years old, Constellation Studios is not yet packed to capacity. With her reputation and the energy that she puts into developing that studio, I'm sure that her schedule will soon be too full to accommodate someone with as little education and experience as I have. At this point, I'm counting my blessings to have the chance of studying with her!

To read more about Karen Kunc and Constellation Studios, visit their website, http://constellation-studios.net/

To help fund my trip to Nebraska, please consider buying one of the lunar calendar prints from my new Etsy store: http://www.etsy.com/listing/288956487/2016-may-july-lunar-calendar-fundraiser. And keep an eye out in that store. As I develop more work, I'll list it there first.

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