Our fifth visiting artist Sarah Smelser will be working on her print project October 24 to December 2, 2022.
Sarah plans to develop a suite of monotypes entitled Campus Tour, where she uses walking as an entry point into image making. She writes, “While walking, I measure my mileage by the ground I’ve covered, my loose sense of direction, and the rhythm of my breath and footsteps. I consider how land looks from above and how plots fit together; I imagine a map and wander inside one, looking for what is native, imported, edible, or toxic. I note transitions such as land-to-water, cultivated-to-wild, and private-to-public. These shifts can be felt or heard; they can dictate one’s mood and gait.”
Artist bio:
Sarah Smelser received her BA from UC Santa Cruz, studying with Kay Metz and Zarina Hashmi, and her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa. She has been an artist in residence at Vermont Studio Center; Franz Masereel Center, Artica Bilbao, Kala Art Institute, Jentel Artist Residency, Skopelos Foundation for the Arts, Anchor Graphics, Ballinglen Arts Foundation, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, and Tamarind Institute. Her work is in such collections as Readers’ Digest Association, New York Public Library, Library of Congress, Hallmark Corporate Collection, Microsoft Corporate Collection, and Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts.
Smelser exhibits her work extensively in solo, group, and juried exhibitions, both nationally and internationally. It has been reviewed in Art on Paper: The Journal of Prints, Drawings and Photography, Abstract Art Online, Monotype, Monoprint, & Strappo Ezine and reproduced in New American Paintings. She was recently interviewed by Laura Berman for her blog, Reflections on Color and Printmaking.
Sarah is the Harold Boyd Endowed Professor and Associate Director of the Wonsook Kim School of Art at Illinois State University. From 2006 to 2008 Smelser was President of the Mid America Print Council, a national non-profit organization of artist printmakers and educators. She later served as co-editor for its quarterly journal. https://www.sarahsmelser.com/