The public is invited to the opening reception of Stand Out Prints on Friday, September 7, from 6:30 – 9 pm. At this free event, guests will have the opportunity to mingle, tour HP’s printshop, and enjoy beverages and hors d’oeuvres. Stand Out Prints Juror, Crawford Alexander Mann III, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, will give brief remarks that evening at 7 pm.

In its 38th year, the Connect & Collect Art Auction and Exhibition remains one of the most anticipated art events in the Bay Area, featuring more than 100 pieces by local, national and international artists. Whether you’ve never owned an original artwork or you’re a serious collector, Connect & Collect features work accessible to every collector. Don’t miss out on the best parties of the year featuring incredible art, signature wines, beers and drinks, and gourmet bites made in the ICA’s pop-up kitchen by local chefs (or, sometimes even a food truck!).

I'll have this gem of a piece up for auction in this year's ICA fundraiser. Stop by and say hello at the Artist Reception + oggle the beautiful work with me. Maybe even instigate a bidding war?!

Established in 1913, The California Society of Printmakers is the oldest printmaking organization in the nation. With a mission to support the integrity of traditional printmaking and encourage artists exploring new directions in contemporary print methods, the CSP is exhibiting member work in it's 105th Annual Exhibition. Fine art print works offer a great opportunity for emerging & established collectors to buy original hand pulled artworks at a modest rate. Stop in and enjoy the immense variation of top-notch technique & dynamic voices.

The California Society of Printmakers + the Kings Art Center are pleased to present The Traces Left Behind. A print is made by transferring an image from one surface, such as a metal plate or carved wooden block, onto paper or another support. Thus the final work of art that the viewer enjoys consists of “the traces left behind” from the surface that the artist originally worked. The exhibition explores the rich and varied nature of printmaking techniques and traditions. Work ranges from two dimensional surfaces to three dimensional artist books and from very traditional techniques like woodcut, mezzotint, and stone lithography that have been used by artists for hundreds of years to newer and more experimental techniques such as photopolymer intaglio, pochoir monoprint, encaustic and clay monotype.

Don't miss this stellar exhibit of contemporary printmaking at the New Museum in Los Gatos.  Thinking Outside the Frame showcases work that falls outside the realm of traditional printmaking, exploring scale, installation, book arts, and innovative processes. Beautifully curated by juror Cathy Kimball and installed in NuMu's   spacious galleries.

Seeing an inked up lithograph was just as exciting during my recent printmaking residency as it was 24 years ago when I hit my first processed litho surface with a wet sponge - and at times I felt just as much a novice. I was expecting Lithography to give me a bit of trouble. Expecting it to challenge my skills... I was off the press for 5 years after all! But, the full-of-hope part of me totally convinced the pessimist in me that we’d work this out together. I’m pleased with what arrived + I can’t wait to continue. Welcome to the world new lithographs!

For additional images and thoughts on this Kala Art Institute project CLICK HERE >>

Just as summer emerged...

My residency at Kala stopped, I took a board position with the California Society of Printmakers, school ended, and children swarmed my home... spilling their mayhem across my studio + commandeering every drop of time. It was mutiny I tell you!

In truth, everything was just fine. Camping trips, a wasp sting, video conferences, zoos, unruly screen time, several road trips +  thousands-of-photographs! In those photos, a new landscape project was born along the highway behind King City, and a few scenes appeared before me in Bodega Bay for additional Gilded Dunes work. Even in the stalls of work-from-home obligation the winds of inspiration blow through. The summer season offered abundant opportunities to show work, and these glimpses of California’s Landscape get to travel to far off places I’ve never been. Lucky ducks!

 Next on the horizon, developing new work in water color and wrangling some time + capital to continue my lithograph series at Kala. I'd also really like to explore more carborundum printing - one of may favorite mono printing techniques. And, there's that idea for a book... and to find another artist residency where kids can tag along...and some videos ... and...there's always another *and.* Happy Printing! 

Hi there Autumn, I'm looking to you now!

*Sunny Regards*

      Karen