A winter Saturday brought clear skies and folks for the Patterned Papers Workshop. Lots of color and innovations were shared for the paste papers. See the combed designs by Kerry –
And the marbling made intricate designs – and a learning curve for all – as colors and patience made beautiful patterns. See Jennifer floating the colors, then lay the sheet for the transfer of the combed bouquets –
It was great to have all of you here for the workshop!
A new winter exhibition features the color blue used in the prints of Karen Kunc, and others, selected from the Constellation Studios collection. The Blue Moment alludes to the refraction of light off snow and ice crystals, and the light transitioning in winter twilight. Exhibition dates are January 14 – February 28, with an opening reception on Wednesday, January 14, 6:00 -8:00pm
It feels great to have completed the editioning for Nancy Friedemann’s dramatic large, detailed woodcut, just this past Wednesday. Here is the team of us at work: Karen, Joyce Bingeman student assistant, and Nancy! The luscious dark ink is glistening and the rollers flying.
We hosted a beautiful invitational Publishing Party, at the end of October, to announce the release of the three Constellation Studios Publications by Nancy Friedemann, Kim Reid Kuhn, and Karen Kunc. Beautiful food and art and patrons!
And the special recital on November 20th by Jarod Hiscock, Jenny Smith, and The Skyros String Quartet was exhilarating. An architectural sense of space and sound was at play, through the beautiful, rich voices and music. Thanks to all for a memorable experience.
“Songs of Samuel Barber (1910-1981)” will be performed by baritone Jared Hiscock, a doctoral student in the UNL Glen Korff School of Music. Featuring Jenny Smith, mezzo-soprano, Denis Plutalov, pianist, and the Skyros String Quartet. The recital is free, with a reception to follow.
Announcing the release of new prints by Nancy Friedemann, Kim Ried Kuhn, and Karen Kunc. These stunning prints are by notable regional artists, who have brought their vision to the woodcut process, offering their own unique visual voice, paired with quality hand production that is a hallmark of Constellation Studios and master printmaker Karen Kunc. These limited edition prints are available for purchase and exhibition. For inquiries on the prints and artists please contact hello@constellation-studios.net
Lincoln artist Jeremy Johnson has executed his largest painting ever, and probably his first outdoor mural, created for Constellation Studios ongoing WallWorks public art project. This new addition to brings painterly atmospheric abstraction, a sense of voids and spheres, gestural drips and tendrils. We all watched in amazement as Jeremy responded each day to his stenciling props of sticks and antlers, his energetic layering with spray and brush, as he responds intuitively to the paint and the surrounding at large. Many passers-by were interested and engaged in dialogue with this intelligent and driven artist. Jeremy holds an MFA from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Papermaker Helen Hiebert was here for a watermarking workshop with UNL students in the papermaking studio. We learned interesting techniques and refined our skills for pulp preparation and sheet forming. She presented a great variety of samples that inspired intricate designs for the transmission of light through the paper as a watermark, due to the different thickness of the paper. Very beautiful results!
The fall Color Woodcut Printmaking Workshop brought artists together for color and a collaborative atmosphere. Everyone enjoyed the studio space and time, and we saw influences between each other from sharing color layers and conversations. Another experience of “Constellation Studio heaven”! Thank you Stephanie, Nancy, Lisa, Kelly, Katherine!
The large-scale prints of artist Karen Kunc are exhibited together for the first time in the new fall show Grand Scale, at Constellation Studios. Created throughout Kunc’s career, these works encompass her abstract vocabulary of landscape sources, elemental forms, and evolutionary forces. that inspire sensory immersion. Executed in her signature color woodcut process, these prints possess graphic power, the resonance of physically demanding carving and printing, the effects of peripheral vision and perceptional color actions.
I have enjoyed great teaching in workshops here at Constellation Studios and in my summer travels to Anderson Ranch Art Center and Penland School of Crafts. Thanks to everyone who made the experiences so rewarding and engaging!
This week I taught the Japanese Mokuhanga watercolor woodblock printmaking method, and we all learned to balance the nuances of Ink, Water, Wood – how the paper held the color, the pressure from the baren, fine tuning our wood carving skills, and sharing space and success.
The first week of August was beautiful in the Colorado mountains, where I was hosted at Anderson Ranch. My workshop on Text & Image to Book was very experimental with mixed print media and approaches. Presses were humming for woodcuts and collagraphs, along with movable type on the backpack SCOPE press. Beautiful books were made by everyone, expanding and gathering pages of stories, tributes, textures, word play.
Constellation Studios Publications venture brought Visiting Artist Kim Reid Kuhn to the studio for some hot printing of a wild woodcut in a week-long residency! Kim has a BFA from the University of Nebraska-Omaha, and exhibits regionally, and is poised for national exposure. She is one of the co-owners of the Sweatshop Gallery, an unconventional art space and music venue in Omaha’s thriving Benson neighborhood. Watch for a Publishing Party coming in the fall to unveil this amazing print!
Sanaz is an Iranian artist currently residing in Bozeman, Montana. Her graphic design and art training from the University of Sooreh gives her strong abilities that she uses for new woodcut prints that test fine line details and gives a flowing mosaic-like pattern for an iconic woman/self-portrait. Sanaz is developing her art for graduate school applications and her future education.
Come view the The Space Between to see the collection and relationships in this beautiful exhibition installation. Until the end of July!
2055 'O' Street
Lincoln, NE 68510
hello@constellation-studios.net
(402) 438-0049
