Hello! Not sure where the last six months went, but here is what I have been up to…
In April I did an artist talk and taught a photogravure workshop at Art Intersection in Gilbert, AZ. The new printing press worked very well and the students make great images.
I was pleased to participate in the following spring exhibitions:
- Light Sensitive, Art Intersection, Gilbert, AZ
- Arrivals & Departures, Tucson Artist Group, Tucson International Airport Center Gallery
- INPrint, Photomethode, Austin, TX
Spring semester at Pima College ended with my students sharing their wonderful portfolios of silver gelatin prints, cyanotypes, van dykes, palladium and ink jet images.
In June Flash and I enjoyed an adventurous road trip returning to the coast of Oregon. I was lucky to spend a week teaching photogravure and cyanotypes at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology and it was my honor to assist master printmaker Dan Welden in his Solarplate workshop at Sitka. Flash spent the week with Auntie Judy and his pals Pedro and Maddie. Walks on the beach were a real treat for this desert dog.
In July I spend time in Sag Harbor, NY in a residency with Dan Welden. I worked on larger plates and multi-plate printing. It was a rich, creative time. From Long Island I met dear friends in the city and celebrated my 60th birthday weekend in style, taking in museums, galleries, an off Broadway play and lots of great food.
The rest of July and August I traveled back and forth from Tucson to Silver City, NM where I have a solar adobe house in the woods. My big news is I have purchased a beautiful building in downtown Silver City and plan to relocate there in the summer of 2018. The building was built in 1905 as a hardware store and for most of that century it was a department store and then Firecloud Traders. My plans are still evolving, but I do know I will transform it into Light Art Space, a place for making, displaying and learning about art. My studio will occupy a portion of the lower level along with exhibition space, darkrooms, shooting studio, teaching space and the upstairs will hopefully become studios and apartments. Out back is a large lot perfect for sun exposures, a patio and future events.
I have really fallen in love with Silver and her people. Over Labor Day weekend I had a booth at the SW Print Fiesta and my building space was used to house a related exhibition. To top it off, one of my prints won Best of Show in the exhibition! The steamroller printmaking street event was great fun and I met many local artists and art patrons at my booth. The exhibit will be up through November so stop by 209 West Broadway if you make it to Silver City. And yes, this is the town where the stolen De Kooning surfaced in July! What a story that is…
I look forward to teaching photogravure in October at the Visions Retreat Workshop for high school students sponsored by Scottsdale Arts in Prescott, AZ and am very busy at Pima College with the additional duties of the Discipline Lead in Photography. My Pima students are as exciting as ever – I learn from them constantly.
September 30 and October 1st, 11am – 5pm, I am opening my studio for the SACCA sponsored Open Studio Tour. My colleague, Ernesto Esquer, will be joining me so stop by and view/ purchase some exciting images.
You can read a recent interview with me in the Sonoran Arts Network at http://www.sonoranartsnetwork.net/karen-hymer.html
My Summer and Fall exhibits include:
Artist Proof, Best of Show, Southwest Print Fiesta, Silver City, NM
Fotos Frontera 2017, La Fe Cultural and Technical Center, El Paso, Texas
Little by Little, Art Intersection, Gilbert, Arizona
I wish you all a happy and colorful fall…here in the desert we have many weeks until fall will arrive with cooler weather, but we are grateful the wildfires have avoided our area.
Be safe…
Karen