ABOUT THE artist: Dawn earned her BS in Art along with minors in Anthropology and Gender Studies from Eastern Oregon University. After showing her artwork for a number of years and starting a family Dawn returned to school and earned an MFA in Painting and Sculpture from Washington State University.
Dawn has shown her artwork throughout the Pacific Northwest for two decades receiving many awards. In 2013 she received a Fellowship to attend a workshop with internationally recognized artist Craig Drennen at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village, Colorado.
As well as showing work in numerous art exhibitions, Dawn has years of experience working in an academic art setting. Dawn has been a studio assistant, teaching assistant, art instructor, and has held multiple gallery positions. She is currently the Exhibits Director at the Josephy Center for Arts and Culture in Joseph Oregon and hopes to help further their mission to celebrate, promote, and inspire arts and culture for all.
Dawn says, "My work is materially flexible. I move between sculpture, installation, and painting. My concepts are fluid and change throughout the making of each piece. I pick a moment and build around it. An image, object, or idea draws my attention, and through the process of making it, I hope to learn its significance. This involves a period of undirected organic thought letting the idea ruminate and change while making new associations. Finished work is a conglomerate of different ideas and experiences, an outlet for that which doesn’t always progress in a logical fashion.
I am currently trying to find a balance point in my life between anxiety, hope, and humor. There are so many social and ecological threats looming over us. I don’t want to brush them under the rug, but I also want to maintain some amount of hope, joy, and good humor."