ART

Carol MacDonald: About the Artist

catherine — Fri, 04 May 2012 22:14:05 +0000

American, born in 1953 in New York
Lives and works in Colchester, Vermont

Works in screenprinting, monotype/monoprint

Vermont artist Carol E.S. MacDonald has been exhibiting her prints and paintings since 1980 both regionally and nationally.

Carol MacDonald was born in New York City in 1953 and raised in Bedford, New York. She has been making art her whole life. Drawing, painting, playing musical instruments, singing, creative cake baking and wrapping interesting presents were early means of self-expression. Going on to the Maryland Institute of Art after high school provided a strong foundation in art, particularly in painting and drawing. After moving to Vermont in 1974 to become the art director of a small weekly newspaper, she delved into printmaking to expand on her drawing abilities. Studying at the Lake Placid School of Art she learned the art of etching, lithography and silkscreen.

In 1977 her first husband built her an etching press using gears and a roller from old machine parts. The press, with its creaky wooden frame, is still in service today at her studio in Colchester, Vermont.

MacDonald began showing her work in 1980 at the T.W. Wood Art Gallery (Montpelier, Vermont) in an exhibition titled “Portraits of a Personal Space”. The images were portraits of her living space and the objects within described the relationships in the artist’s life. Her images developed into an inquiry about housekeeping and the traditional role of women’s work. Clotheslines, laundry piles, brooms and brushes were all examined. In 1983 MacDonald, Rene Schall and noted author Julia Alvarez collaborated on The Housekeeping Book. This limited edition handmade artist’s book combined Alvarez’s poems on housekeeping with Schall’s exquisite calligraphy and MacDonald’s hand-coloured etchings.

MacDonald’s activism as a community arts leader began in 1981 when she became active with the Vermont Women’s Caucus for Art. “We were an active group of women artists who met monthly, exhibited our work together and created annual conferences to address the issues of being women artists at this time in history.” She served both on the Board of Directors and as President of the local chapter. Carol also became involved with the National Women’s Caucus for Art and served on its Board and as a Vice-President from 1984-1994. “Being involved with women’s art on a national level was very inspiring. Traveling to annual conferences all around the US and supporting local chapters throughout the country gave me a much broader perspective.”

In 1986, MacDonald along with other members of the community formed the non-profit organization Art’s Alive, Inc. Its mission was to produce an annual, juried Festival of Fine Arts in Burlington, Vermont. This organization grew out of an event that the VWCA had developed for many years. The festival continues to bring art into the storefronts of downtown Burlington as well as a large group exhibition which is currently housed in the historic Union Station building. MacDonald was a Board member and President of Art’s Alive for many years.

In 1987 MacDonald attended a national workshop in New York City at the studio of Betsy Damon to begin her training as a “No Limits for Women Artists” leader. Based on listening skills and holding the perspective that there is No Limit to what we can do as women artists, Carol led ongoing support groups and workshops for women artists from 1988-2003.

In 1988 MacDonald began teaching drawing at Community College of Vermont (CCV) in Burlington. Over the years she has taught beginning and advanced drawing classes and then developed a two level printmaking program which she continues to teach today. In addition, she has led monotype workshops in her Colchester studio and in 1993 she began a summer art camp for children that she runs each summer for four weeks.

MacDonald remarried in 1983 to Michael Swaidner, and in 1985 moved with him to Colchester. Their two daughters were born in 1985 and 1988. Becoming a mother was a life-altering event which was chronicled in images of baby paraphernalia, children’s toys and laundry piles. Finding the balance of art making, wage earning, parenting, and community organizing was tenuous at best.

The laundry baskets developed into portraits of clothing exploring issues of identity. They then became a more intimate inquiry into spirituality working with images of Japansese Kimonos. In the early 90′s the Kimonos started erupting and flying off the page and MacDonald began having memories of early sexual abuse. Using art as a tool in her healing process, a profound shift occurred leading to a much deeper and intuitive form of expression. “The Survivor Project” was created in 1993. It included: an exhibition of artwork (“WRAPPINGS: Unravelling the Wound”) about abuse and recovery; an interactive installation piece; and Art and Healing Workshops. At this time in the mid-90′s Carol was also on the Board of Healing Legacies – a slide registry of art by women who have faced breast cancer.

The wrappings evolved into nest images. They were internal nests, looking for and building safe, nurturing spaces within. Feathers, a symbol of prayer, joined the nests and in 1999, after renovating a three-car garage into a new studio space overlooking the Winooski River, the image of a bird manifested. “What About Our Nest”, a one-woman show at the Mist Grill in Waterbury, Vermont, examined issues of development and the preservation of land. Most recently the images of nests are reappearing as we confront terrorism and political divisiveness in our homeland.

Her work has been seen in many venues over the years including the Attleboro Arts Museum in Massachusetts; The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio; Soho 20 and Pindar Gallery in New York City; Lotus Corporation, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Bromfield Gallery and Wenniger Graphics in Boston; The Print Club and Kamin Gallery in Philadelphia; and at the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in Burlington. Her work is in the collection of the Robert Hull Fleming Museum, Burlington; San Francisco Public Library; Gelman Library, Washington, DC; Johnson & Johnson Corporation; Shearson Lehman/American Express; Champion Paper International; and Fletcher Allen Health Care, Burlington, Vermont.

MacDonald is currently spending most of her time in her studio creating one of a kind monoprints, drawings and paintings as well as limited edition hand-pulled prints.

Win The News Cycle by Alex Costantino

catherine — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:13:47 +0000