Show opening – 6-9 pm Saturday, June 3 “Inherited Gardens” June 3-June 29, 2017 Prints by Kerry Eilleen Born in San Francisco, CA. Artist Kelly Eilleen will be displaying her artwork at the Press Club in June. Members and their invited guests are welcome to join us for a special reception with the artist Saturday, June 3 from 6-9pm. *Piece pictured is “Inherited Gardens: Hydrangea” 2017, Woodcut print, 18 x 24″* Artist Statement I have been fortunate to live in a lineage of historic homes across the country with large but neglected gardens. As I explore each new landscape, I discover overgrown pathways and remnants of original plantings. Reconstructing these gardens means melding the previous gardener’s intentions with my own sense of design. A difficult part of moving from one city to another is saying goodbye to the gardens I nurtured back to life. Putting down garden roots is a way of belonging, a way to know and feel a sense of place. I keep a sketchbook filled with images to remind me of the plant forms and colors that are unique to each landscape. Collectively, I think of these places as “inherited gardens,” gifts from the spirit of the previous gardeners. In observing the ebb and flow of gardens, I began to accept the inevitability of the transitory nature of life and landscape. My goal in printmaking is to reveal some of the joy and sadness of this elusive quality. I am a New Mexico-based artist working primarily with printmaking techniques on woodblock and linoleum block. Education BA, Art History and Studio Art, Knox College, Galesburg, IL. MA, Humanities, California State University, Long Beach, CA. Additional Studies Classes in Printmaking, University of New Mexico. Landscape Architecture & Studio Art studies at the University of California, Davis. Graduate Studies in Architectural and Landscape History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Work Experience Restoration of the “Sky Garden,” home of Adda Gentry George in Galesburg, IL Lecturer in Art History at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock Historic Preservation Assistant, Corvallis, Oregon. Cultural Heritage Commissioner, specializing in landscape and garden history, Long Beach, CA. Garden Designer specializing in re-establishing historic gardens, Long Beach, CA.
