Compônere - Mary Bookwalter

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Mary Bookwalter

Media

printmaking

Artist's Statement

Growing up in Kansas I have always felt a kinship with wide open places. The hills and grasslands with distant prairie horizons that extended west from my home still fascinate and envelope me as if seeing them again for the first time. As a child I made maps of the imaginary places I thought filled that expansive space so it comes as no surprise that most of my work takes the form of altered landscapes. The prints illuminate where I come from and where I feel at home.

However, there are times when the road I am following is not always so clear. I’ve hiked many trails and pathways in the west and sometimes, as I crossed a wash-out or particularly rugged stretch of boulders, the trail would just disappear. There I often found way markers in the form of a stack of rocks, a cairn placed by someone who passed ahead of me. The marker was a way of pointing out the trail, though it was invisible at this particular place on the road. At this point in my life I want to explore those stone messages on uncertain paths, and to find where the trail again enters the trees.

Bio

Since the 1970’s Mary Bookwalter has created prints that quietly imply an earthy direction and invite the close-up attention of the viewer. Her work often depicts altered landscapes, maps and symbols which tell a story of a love for the land with ink, paper and press.

Although trained in traditional printmaking methods, her work of the last decade has moved toward mixed media mono prints and short editions. The prints incorporate many print techniques including digital technology, direct scans, photography, and image manipulation. However, small edition reduction woodcuts remain her favorite venue.

Bookwalter is known in the Chicago community for her colorful prints and drawings which she shows regionally and nationally and is in numerous private and university collections. Recently retired from her position as University Professor of Art at Governors State University in Illinois where she taught printmaking, drawing and design since 1985, she retains her interest in safe printmaking technology by embracing non-toxic procedures in her studio practice.

Originally from Kansas, Bookwalter earned a MFA in printmaking and drawing from Northern Illinois University, an MA in printmaking from Eastern Illinois University, and a BSE from Emporia State University in Kansas. Besides her dedication to printmaking, other interests include pinhole photography and artist books.

Selected Exhibitions

2009
Way Markers, Compônere Gallery of Art & Fashion, St. Louis, MO
Collective Resonance, Gallery Artists Exhibition, 33 Collective Gallery, Zhou B. Art Center, Chicago, IL
Invitational Winter 2009 Exhibition, Preston Contemporary Art Center, Mesilla, NM

2008
Rockford Midwestern 70th Juried Biennial, Rockford Art Museum, Rockford, IL
Continuum, exhibition by gallery artists, 33Collective Gallery, Chicago, IL
Exchange Print Portfolio Inkspot Gallery , Eastern Oregon University, LaGrande, OR

2007
Harmony: Art of Music, touring invitational exhibition coordinated by the Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra. Tall Grass Arts Association (Park Forest), Union Street Gallery (Chicago Heights), White Street Gallery (Frankfort), McCord Gallery (Palos Park).
Crossroads, Union Street Gallery, Chicago Heights, IL
Crossing the Digital Divide, invitational print portfolio, The Digital Labrador, Kansas City, MO

2006
The Transferred Image, national juried printmaking show, 33 Collective Gallery, Chicago, IL
Forging Connections, Exchange Portfolio, Mid America Print Council, Athens, OH
A Perfect 10, Invitational 10th Anniversary Show, Christopher Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL
Print Zero Studios 4th Print Exchange, PrintZeroStudios, Seattle, WA
Sixty Square Inches: 15th Biennial Small Print Exhibition, Memorial Union Ringel Gallery, Perdue University, West Lafayette, IN. Purchase Award.

2005
Silicon Sands, juried digital media exhibition, Museum of Fine Art, Las Cruces, NM
2005 Juried Mid America Print Council Member’s Exhibition, University Art Gallery, Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, MI
2 Painters 2 Printers, Invitational Show, University Art Gallery, Governors State University, University Park, IL

2004
Print National 2004 Exhibition, Lancaster Museum of Art, Lancaster, PA
2nd LUC Print Biennial, Crown Center Gallery, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL
1st Annual Juried Print Exhibition, Mitchell Place Gallery, Muncie, IN
Printmakers: Meister & Bookwalter, Tallgrass Gallery, Park Forest, IL

2003
Pentimento, one-person show, Bulthaup Architecture & Gallery, Chicago, IL
Digitally Speaking, juried exhibition, WomanMade Gallery, Chicago, IL
Non-Toxic Printmaking, four-person exhibition, DiCaprio Gallery, Moraine Valley Community College Palos Hills, IL
Touche’, invitational exhibition, Christopher Art Gallery, Prairie State College, Chicago Heights, IL
Mid-America Print Council Print Portfolio Exchange, Open Press LTD, Denver, CO
Enter & Return, one-person show, Lee Dulgar Gallery, South Suburban College, South Holland, IL

2002
1st Annual Juried Exhibition, Lemon Street Gallery, Kenosha, WI Conversation Part I, An Invitational Project, Fine Arts, University of New Mexico, Gallup, NM
Fe-Mail Art, Woman’s Caucus for Mail Art Exhibit, Harold Washington Library, Chicago, IL

Selected Presentations

2008
New Substrates for Digital Printing, Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, IL
The Digitally Transferred Image, South Suburban College, South Holland, IL

2006
Hybrid Prints, Elmhurst College Digital Photography Dept., Elmhurst, IL

2004
Hybrid Prints, South Suburban Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago, Homewood, IL

2002
Solarplate Etching Workshop, Governors State University
Polaroid Transfer Workshop, Governors State University

Memberships

Mid America Print Council, Treasurer 2002 – 2006, Current member of Executive Board

Southern Graphics Council

Chicago Artists Coalition

Updated: 2009.02.14

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