Lively Panel Discussion with Artists at Housatonic Museum of Art
BRIDGEPORT - On Thursday, March 23 the four artists featured in the Housatonic Museum of Art’s exhibit, Prints That Work: Printmaking in The Service of a Bigger Picture, shared their experiences as printmakers with a crowd of artists, students and art enthusiasts. Hosted by HCC Professor of Theater Arts Geoffrey Sheehan, this was the final event of the Department’s Inter-Act Program, which explored the theme: Crossing Boarders. Leslie Giuliani, who was the guest curator for the exhibit, led the discussion.
Printmaker John O’Donnell, who printed 250 individual boxes, and formed them into a large-scale installation in the exhibit said, “In high school I had an opportunity to take a printmaking class. I saw my drawing process reversed and repeated, and it was the first time I liked my work; the first time I felt that about my art.” Today, O’Donnell is an assistant professor of printmaking at UConn.
With a theme of crossing borders, the artists were asked what borders they had crossed in developing this exhibit. Neil Daigle-Orians taught himself how to use a jigsaw and combined things in ways he hadn’t before. Artist Kelsey Miller described her creative process of wanting to make something that hasn’t already been seen.
“One of the biggest surprises [in participating in this exhibit] was doing a drawing on the wall of the gallery,” said Miller who created a drawing of her memory of being at sea. “In my studio I have a chalkboard where I draw and erase as a way of loosening up. In the gallery, I created a memory of that experience. That drawing is a multiple for me because I’ve created it so many times.”
Roxanne Faber-Savage, whose work focuses on the conservation and protection of elephants, abandoned some of the traditional printmaking mediums for this show. “With printmaking there’s this repetitious extraordinary event. For this exhibit I had to think, ‘how can I create a larger story?’ Printmaking is only a part of my work – I wanted to explore that format.”
About the Housatonic Museum of Art
The Housatonic Museum of Art (HMA) is home to one of the premier college art collections in the United States. Its collection offers students and the community alike the opportunity to view works that span the history of art from the ancient to the contemporary. Unique to the Housatonic Community College campus, this permanent collection is on continuous display throughout the 300,000 square foot facility, offering a rare opportunity for both art enthusiasts and casual observers to view and interact with the art on a daily basis. Visit >www.HousatonicMuseum.org to learn more.
