Katy Butler is a native of Wilmington, NC and currently resides in Spartanburg, SC as a BFA printmaking major at Converse College. Infatuated with art from a young age, Katy didn't realize her affection for printmaking until she was introduced to the medium in 2008. She hopes to continue pursuing art after her graduation in May and hopes you enjoy the show.


In my most recent prints, I have chosen to explore the imprisonment of an individual due to a perceived repression from the environment they inhabit. Throughout my life, I've often heard people complain about where they are in life and how, if only they could be living somewhere else, life would be simple and they could be happy. These people feel as though they are being lost to their environment, their personality being wiped away by the ideals and values of those around them. The reality is that they are not imprisoned by their surroundings, but by themselves. Just like a person can be surrounded by people and feel lonely or have a good life and a good family and be depressed, happiness isn't a solution to a formula composed of idealistic circumstances. No matter where a person goes there will always be hardships to deal with and those that have dissimilar life views. Our happiness and identities should be independent of these things and found instead within the individual.

In this collection, I am portraying the individual as it is invaded, imprisoned, and ultimately destroyed by the environment around it. These prints are composed of silkscreen, monotype, lithograph, and collage.
 



Miranda Mims Sawyer is a multi-media artist whose work is a unique mix of photography, printmaking, and other diverse media. In 2007 she received her AA degree with Emphasis in Photography and is currently working toward her BFA in Studio Art at Converse College. She is presently employed at LEL International in downtown Spartanburg as the graphic/web designer.


A short time ago, I came to realize that I show only a part of myself to specific people. With my artwork, the same thing is done: I pick and chose which pieces of art I bring into public view and which to store away. I created all these works of art, and yet I hide some and exhibit others. Do I make these judgments based on expectations, acceptance, or approval? By hiding these specific aspects of myself and pressing these similar limitations upon my artwork, I believe that I might be hiding my real truth from others and perhaps even myself. Because of this, I chose to answer these questions and explore these thoughts through art. I decided the best way to go about finding answers was to document my surroundings at a specific, unrestricted moment in time. This documentation was set forth to determine a greater understanding of who I am as a person and an artist and examine what life choices brought me to these surroundings at this moment and time. The imagery I used directly reflects this notion, by not limiting myself, and choosing things based off the circumstances portrayed. This being said, the aspect of “high art” has no value and the use of pop culture references is highly significant.

With this current body of work I have examined my day-to-day life by setting arbitrary dates and times then recording what’s around me visually by quickly writing down my environment in a journal. From this journal I have taken key words and transformed them into a piece of art using mixed media materials, such as wood, plexi glass, metal, paint, photography, and printmaking techniques. Through this process I have begun to learn more about myself, but want to continue this method of art making and genuineness until I have reached a higher understanding of myself and the life I am living.

 

 

Jamie Tanner lives and works in downtown, Greenville, SC.  She  resides with two fantastic kids and three wonderful dogs. Her studio consists of nooks and cranny’s around her house and she prints on her kitchen table.


I am concerned with how seemingly random events shape my life and how to accept and to adapt to continual change. My printmaking is inspired by the Neo-Dadaist movement of transforming absurdity into a solution in which one accepts and even embraces the Absurd and continues to live in spite of it. This series combines and manipulates found imagery and hand drawn elements. The layering of images is important as it mimics human experience, which is multivalent and simultaneous.