Pollinator Mug Collaboration
Carved on stoneware in collaboration with Kim Hall of Alpine Earthworks Pottery.
June 2022
For the past three years I have volunteered on the Pollinator Pursuit Project through Sageland Collab, so when Kim asked if I’d like to work on a special pollinator collection I was totally in!
The western monarch has been in decline over the last decade, particularly due to fragmentation of habitat, lack of migratory corridors, and pesticide usage. Organizations like Sageland Collab are monitoring their presence and are creating solutions for this important species future.
Back to Eden Cover Design
Relief print, watercolor, +digital desig
May 2022
Designed for the cover of Jess Toan’s poetry compilation, “Back to Eden: Poetry through the Pandemic”.
The original design description: Together we’ll wait it out.
Did you know gopher snakes join up in dens to weather out the winter months? Sometimes they are even joined by rattlesnakes, cozied together underground, huddled for warmth, enjoying an unstated moment of peace.
I think there’s probably a lesson in there somewhere. Hope you’re staying warm on these cold days.
Celebration of Hand
Safe Passage
Digital Linocut, 4 feet x 8 feet,
May 2022
Designed for Craft Lake City Celebration of Hand group show.
The Great Salt Lake and its larger ecosystem provides safe passage for upwards of 10 million migrating birds annually. From white pelicans to snowy plovers, the Great Salt Lake acts as critical habitat within an arid stretch for many avian species. As the lake continues to dry, the fate of innumerable birds relies on us to make the changes necessary to save the great salt lake before it’s too late.
To be shown in SLC, July 2022
Sgraffito Mug Collab
Carved on stoneware in collaboration with Kim Hall of Alpine Earthworks Pottery.
March 2022
This project was a dance with many steps. From throwing the pottery, to carving, to glazing, and firing, each move was performed in time, a response to the continuing rhythm of our collaboration.
Each vessel wass hand thrown and carved by Kim Hall of Alpine Earthworks and Courtney Leigh Johnson of Little Canyon Press. Every piece was completely unique and one of a kind, containing a little bit of both of our creative styles.
Save Our Great Salt Lake Postcard
Relief print + digital design
February 2022
The Great Salt Lake ecosystem is critical habitat for innumerable species of resident and migrating birds and as it dries and lower salinity waters become scarce, the future of many of these species becomes uncertain.
This design was selected to be printed by Save Our Great Salt Lake as one of the postcards to be sent to Utah legislatures asking for further protections be placed on the Great Salt Lake in the face of climate change.
Moth Migration Contributing Artist
Spotted Tiger Moth
Relief Print
December 2021
Found in meadows, open fields, edges of woodlands, prairies, parks, and backyards, these furry little moths have excellent hearing and can be seen from mid summer to mid autumn.
Part of a collaborative project by Hilary Lorenz of Stone Trigger Press shown in Denver, CO.
Change in Climate Group Show
Bloom
Relief print, charcoal ink, reclaimed wood
October 2021
This piece in about hope hope in the face of climate change. The ink is from the ashes of beetle kill fir trees and honey from my neighbors bees, the frame is wood found scattered throughout the forest behind my house, and the print itself is of a Fire Poppy (Papaver californium) a rare wildflower known as a fire follower. Their seeds lay dormant for years waiting for wildfire to signal their germination.
These poppies are beginning to spring up in fire ravaged areas providing much needed erosion control and fleeting moments of beauty amidst the cycle of heat and wildfire in the west. As artists, we too have a responsibility to bloom in these moments. To create beauty in times of despair and remind others that there is still hope, no matter how small.
Shown in Moab, UT
Artist In Residence
Natural History Museum of Utah
Printmaing focus
January-March 2020
In tandem with the “Nature all Around Us” exhibit, I focused on the invisible boundary between the urban and wild spaces along the Bonneville shoreline. Birds were the perfect muse as they move fluidly between the two spaces, unaware that they “belong” in one space more than the other.
Birds allow us to connect with the wild side of nature everywhere we go, no matter if it is a city park or an empty parking lot, a feathered friend can usually be found.
During my residency I interacted with guests and gave daily screen printing demos related to the “Nature All Around Us” exhibit. Students were able to pull their own prints to take home to see if they could spot that species later on.
Visiting Artist
Swaner EcoCenter
March 2020
During my residency at the NHMU, I was able to teach a printmaking class at the Swaner EcoCenter to their EcoClub.
We discussed the use of printmaking as a way to make observations about nature on a different level, as well as the use as a form of communication.
The students then carved and printed relief prints and were able to experiment with combining screenprinting with their prints.
Certificate in Book Arts
University of Utah
2019
My certificate involved the completion of classes in letterpress printing, book binding, artist books, art history, and hand built ceramics.
My focus was on the artist book as an exploration of the “empty” expanses of the West. Destinations existing neither here nor there, existing on the periphery of our knowing, quickly forgotten and left behind. These “placeless” destinations find protection and vulnerability in their invisibility.