California Dreaming Exhibition at Dorado 806 Projects
I was delighted to participate in Dorado 806’s 4th Annual California Dreaming Show in March 2026! Like so many transplants, California’s magic has found it’s way into my artwork over the years again and again. The variations on the theme were terrific and the whole environment of the exhibition was so fun and community oriented thanks to the wonderful folks at Dorado 806 Projects in Santa Monica.
I created this image Town Totem: Desert Spell while caring for a loved one and unable to travel. I turned to an old atlas, cutting out town names that stirred memories or made me smile. The towns came alive, connecting me to real and imagined places, forming fictional monuments on my Joshua Tree photographs.
Whether through physical places or fleeting impressions. California often embodies the spirit of my work as I move through my daily life perfectly. I moved here over twenty-five years ago from the East Coast, and though friends said, “You’ll be back,” I never left. California’s rhythm of renewal—the contrast between wild landscapes and urban sprawl—feels like it has become part of my bones. Observing and recording the impact of Southern California’s environment—through sight and sound, driving, walking and swimming has become central to my practice.
Town Totem | Desert Spell. Photograph with map collage
"The Moon Visits" in Boston May 2025
Nancy McCarthy, The Moon Visits the Fortune Tellers, 2023
RSVP for the reception here.
I’m so happy to be returning to my Boston roots and exhibiting work in “The Moon Visits” at the Childs Gallery on Newbury Street this May through July. Guest curated by longtime Childs Gallery artist, Hannah Barrett, this group exhibition of paintings, prints, photography, sculpture, and art objects, celebrating Pride Month through trans, queer female, and other gender identities. The exhibition gathers the artist’s friends and compatriots in a delightfully discordant grouping of enigmatic liaisons, tender moments, quiet scenes, and curious oddities.
Hannah Barrett, the curator describes the exhibition as such:
‘The Moon Visits’ presents the work of eighteen artists of varying degrees of connectedness and weirdness, including artists affiliated with Childs Gallery, based in Boston or nearby, and/or within shared artistic circles. The title is taken from Nancy McCarthy’s painting ‘The Moon Visits the Fortune Tellers,’ a mysterious image in which two flamingos at a table with a crystal ball are joined by a yellow orb. There is a story here as there is behind each object in the show, or in some cases it’s a riddle, a trace, an enigma, a cypher, or a surprise. There are vintage cars, prudes, perverts, ornate and derelict interiors, geometry, astrology, gay constructions, mixed media brews, printed flowers, and of course, flamingos. The moon is a big personality, and it can be a pain, but it’s also a feminist, a witch magnet, the menstrual cycle, all things crazy, a beautiful nightlight, lesbian, queer, and trans.
Mara Baldwin, Hannah Barrett, Tony Bluestone, Deborah Bright, Lizi Brown, Caleb Cole, Opal Ecker DeRuvo, Natalie Hays Hammond, Nancy Haselbacher, Xylor Jane, Catherine Kehoe, E. Lombardo, Nancy McCarthy, Louise Nevelson, RJ Messineo, Laurel Sparks, Shellburne Thurber, and Molly Zuckerman-Hartung
168 Newbury Street, Boston, MA 02116 (617) 266-1108 info@childsgallery.com
GALLERY HOURS Tuesday – Friday: 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Saturday & Sunday: 11:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Hannah Barrett, the curator describes the exhibition as such:
‘The Moon Visits’ presents the work of eighteen artists of varying degrees of connectedness and weirdness, including artists affiliated with Childs Gallery, based in Boston or nearby, and/or within shared artistic circles. The title is taken from Nancy McCarthy’s painting ‘The Moon Visits the Fortune Tellers,’ a mysterious image in which two flamingos at a table with a crystal ball are joined by a yellow orb. There is a story here as there is behind each object in the show, or in some cases it’s a riddle, a trace, an enigma, a cypher, or a surprise. There are vintage cars, prudes, perverts, ornate and derelict interiors, geometry, astrology, gay constructions, mixed media brews, printed flowers, and of course, flamingos. The moon is a big personality, and it can be a pain, but it’s also a feminist, a witch magnet, the menstrual cycle, all things crazy, a beautiful nightlight, lesbian, queer, and trans.
Viral Integration exhibition
Join me for the opening of “Viral Integration” , the inaugural group art exhibition at the Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences at UC Irvine, where I’ll be exhibiting my work “Bone Glitch”.
OPENING RECEPTION: FEBRUARY 1, 2024
6-8pm, 3rd floor lobby area.
LOCATION: Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Hall and Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing and Health Sciences Hall, located at 856 Health Sciences Road, Irvine, CA 92617.
VIEWING HOURS: Open between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, through December 15, 2024.
PARKING: The exhibition is free and open to the public, VIRAL INTEGRATION will be on display throughout the December 2024. Parking is available in Parking Lot 70.
Curated by Artist-in-Residence Elin O’Hara Slavick, the exhibit includes more than 100 works by 40 artists, listed below, from across the United States and Canada – with a central theme of addressing health issues, from the individual human body and disease, treatment and survival to environmental factors and medical systems. Artists address childbirth, AIDS, mental health, cancer, medicine, healthcare workers, surgery, community responses to collective experiences, the practice of care, endometriosis, migraines, coal ash ponds, and much more.
The Susan & Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences and UCI Health are building bridges across disciplines to advance a transformative model of discovery, teaching and healing. Our health sciences students benefit from a unique team-based, interprofessional approach to education that brings together in one college the School of Medicine, the Sue & Bill Gross School of Nursing, the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the planned School of Population and Public Health. With the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute, a foundational partner, we are advancing an integrative model of wellness that treats the whole person.
California Native Plants: There's No Place Like Home Exhibition
I’m excited to be exhibiting some recent work from my Library Botanica Collection in the “There’s No Place Like Home: California Native Plants exhibition at El Camino College Art Gallery.
Find me at:
Saturday, April 15 + 16 from 2-5: Opening reception
Tuesday, April 18 1-4: Artist conversations
El Camino Art Gallery
1607 Crenshaw Blvd. Torrance, CA
310-660-3010
Visitor Parking available in the student lots. Link here.
Canvas Rebel Feature!
I’m so pleased to share my story in Canvas Rebel magazine. There are so many wonderful and varied stories here. As I begin my own full time studio practice after many years of being a Professor, I love hearing about all the real life experiences of creatives and small business owners!
A New Liver Every Day
It was great to be able to be able to participate in this exhibition curated by Orly Ruaimi. These pieces, “Cast Memories” are part of an ongoing series I am working on. Thanks to Orly and the people at Union in downtown LA for such a great space and good company!
Printing for the "Blurring the Lines, Manuscripts in the Age of Print” at The Getty Museum
I’m thrilled to have my prints and plates keeping company with such amazing historical manuscripts in The Getty Museum’s, “Blurring the Lines; Manuscripts in the Age of Print” exhibition, up now until October 27th. They are part of an educational didactic in the exhibition showing how a woodcut or a copper engraving is made. The exhibition has examples of the integration of printmaking with illuminated manuscripts in the Middle Ages. The prints I did are inspired by “Studies of Peonies”, by Martin Schongauer from the late 1400’s. I was delighted to work with Larisa Grollemond, the Assistant Curator of Manuscripts at the Getty on this. What a dream project! Below are some images of the project in process.
Sabbatical Life
This past summer and spring I was excited to be able to take a sabbatical from teaching to work on some of my own studio projects and to travel a little. My True North and Drought Runes projects were the primary things I worked on but I also took a trip to Finland and Estonia to work on my art and to investigate a possible travel study program there for my students at Otis College. Some highlights were visiting the Marimekko textile factory, staying in a medieval monk’s home Airbnb in Estonia and doing daily drawings of the flora of Central Finland. I put together a little slideshow to share with my colleagues about my travels and here are a few images from it. Plus a pic of my insanely ambitions list of things to do while on sabbatical… Can’t say I did it all but I sure had a good time!
VoyageLA article
Recently I had the pleasure of being interview by the VoyageLA magazine! Check it out here.
Air, Water Earth exhibition opens at The Muckenthaler Cultural Center.
I'm pleased to be exhibiting my set of Drought Runes in this exhibition. Juried by Kim Ables, an artist known for her exceptional interdisciplinary work with environmental themes, artists explore the vital elements of life: air, water and earth, during a time of great challenge and change to our planet, using traditional and experimental techniques current in contemporary printmaking; from works on paper to installation and video presentations. This exhibition will present art selected from the national membership of the L.A. Printmaking Society.
Exhibition Dates April 22 - June 10, 2018
Opening Sunday, April 22nd 3pm-6pm
EVENTS
Sunday, April 22nd
1-3 PM -- free printmaking demonstrations suitable for all ages
3-6 PM -- opening reception
Thursday, May 10th, 7:30pm 2018 — Gallery Tour
The Venue: The Muckenthaler Cultural Center | 1201 W. Malvern Ave. Fullerton, CA 92833 | Gallery Hours: Tue–Sun, 12-4 PM, and Thursdays open from 12-8:30 PM
Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California Exhibition Walkthrough this weekend!
Looking for something cool to do this weekend? As a member of CAFAM you can attend a walk through of "Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California" at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles. As one of the artists in the exhibition, I'll be sorry to miss it, but there will be many other artists there and the show is terrific. If you can't make it this weekend be sure and check it out before it closes on May 7th!
Inglewood Open Studios 2016
Join me at the 2016 Inglewood Open Studios
Nov. 12-13!
I'll be showing some new work and opening up my studio for the day. There will be many artists and lots of great things to see!
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 12-13
12-5pm
The Beacon Arts Building
808 North LaBrea Ave. Inglewood
Studio 1H
(street-level downstairs)
Map
Here's a preview...
http://inglewoodopenstudios.blogspot.com/
Desert Morning Glitch, 2016, four-color silkscreen, 12" x 10"
Be sure to check out the Residency Gallery while you are on the IOS Artwalk! Along with many of the artists from IOS, I'll also have some work on display there Nov. 12-17th.
Residency Gallery:
http://www.residencyart.com/
310 E Queen St, Inglewood, CA 90301
KaliedoLA Lecture this Friday!
I'm so pleased to be participating in the KaliedoLA Speaker Series at Loyola Marymount University this Friday, Feb. 12. If you are an LA local and can take a lunch break come on over! It's from 12:15-1:15pm on campus at the Murphy Recital Hall.
For more info see cfa.lmu.edu
Inglewood Open Studios and ArtWalk
Save the date for Inglewood Open Studios!
Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 14 &15, 12-5pm
I'll be opening up my studio and sharing some of my work at
The Beacon Arts Building
808 North LaBrea Ave. Inglewood, CA
Studio 1H
A link to my studio location and map of the whole event and details at the link below.
Hope to see you there!
Inglewood Open Studios info here.
Handmade Lenticular studies
Last fall I started a series roughly called "Common Ground", which I've now renamed "Ordinary Ground" as it fits better. They are images of ordinary ground to everyone except me. I put it on the shelf throughout the school year as is the way of the full-time Professor! But now that school has ended I'm making my way back into the studio to finish it. This week I have been doing some handmade lenticular studies of these pieces. One photo is from Saarijarvi, Finland taken in an area I visited last summer, and the other is from Beach Pond, Connecticut, where I grew up. The same, yet different.
Here are a few low-tech videos of folded paper tests before I order the real lenticular image. I'm interested in how the files look broken down to split the image as well.
Stories We Hold
"Some behind-the-scenes images of the work I'll be exhibiting starting next weekend in the Stories We Hold exhibition at Beyond Baroque in Venice."
I'm happy to be participating in this exhibition that opens this weekend on Saturday, May 2, at the historic Beyond Baroque, a literary art center in Venice, CA. I'll be showing a few of the drawings and collages from a series of work about real and metaphorical travel during a recent period of time. Below are some shots of the work in progress and you can find the finished pieces in the Projects of my website section- or at the exhibition!
The "story" of the work I am exhibiting is below.
“Everywhere I Want to Go…”
“Travel Hexes”
These pieces are from a series where I explore the specific mapping and travels of my daily life during a period of time when my partner who lived some distance from me became critically ill. My travels were restricted to my home, her home, and work. I had just temporarily closed up my studio with a plan to move in with her when she became ill. That plan was naturally put on hold due to its’ complexities and I was left with my old family kitchen table on which to work and not much space.
With a studio practice that normally revolves around large-scale printmaking and photography projects, I realized that wouldn’t work for some time so I took up drawing and collage again. I was reminded of how much I loved it. Working from an old atlas of the United States that had taken me across the country and back a few times before GPS came about I found a great freedom poring over it during this time, dissecting and configuring both my actual and imagined travels. I couldn’t wait to come home and sit at the table and cut out more map strands every day. I can only describe it as an unexpected and complete obsession. I also realized also that I’d gotten old enough for reading glasses and had to buy a pair to see the text of the tiny streets and towns!
By tracing the lines of beloved old haunts where I grew up or traveled and dreaming of new places we’d go when she got well, I found some sense of peace. The small squares are tracings of the absent towns cut out and used in another piece in the series. Concern for her health wove its way into my work. The pathways and land masses I developed in these pieces ended up also reflecting clusters of cells and the structure of veins, both attached and disembodied.
Here are some samples of the work in progress.
Some very early sketches.
Working on the first Travel Hex drawing by tracing the removed road cut outs from the atlas.
Early in the collage process. Cutting out the roads and attaching them to the paper.
Beginning to shade in the town cut-outs in white colored pencil.
The first level of shading areas left by multiple road and block removals.
Shading in overlapping blocks of light and dark.
Divination
After a few months of moving and still getting settled in my new home and studio, it feels good to be back to work. Here's a shot of my mini-press, now residing next to my printer and flat files, but still ready to go mobile when needed.
I'm working on a small series of prints of animal trails that I've found walking in the local LA hills. Here are some works in progress of those. Some silkscreens, drypoint engravings and drawings. I'm currently sorting out the medium, size color etc. to proceed with.
This fork in particular stands out for me. It reminds me of a dowser's wand. Apparently my grandfather on my mother's side was a dowser. So this calls to mind an instinct for direction and path-taking- all very relevant to me right now. We'll see where it goes. Oddly I just saw that there is a movie being released this month called The Water Diviner. Collective consciousness I guess!
Untethered
Yesterday I took the subway in Los Angeles for the first time.
Graffiti scratches.
Granted they only put a line in my neighborhood last year. And only in LA within the last twenty years and I've lived here for sixteen of those. But it was an odd sensation to bid adieu to my car in the lot from the high rail and I was reminded of how dependent we are on our cars here. Getting into my car is like breathing. It is like a second home and feels like an extension of my body sometimes. I tote food, water, earthquake supplies, beach stuff, art supplies, school supplies and more daily. I know a car isn't a complete necessity here, but most days it feels that way in this expansive sprawl.
The lot.
I felt afloat in the city and oddly apprehensive today getting on the train with only one small bag. When I got to the museum and met my class, my T.A. asked me alarmed, "Where's your car!?" Only three people out of the 20 or so students that I talked to at our museum visit told me they had taken the subway in LA. Everyone will tell you that the public transportation isn't easy here. And it is true for most people. It's not close to anything you need to get to or come from, the distances are far, the trips slow...
LA River
But today, what I took for granted in every other city I have lived in, felt novel here. I had to figure out the ticket machine, look at maps, and actually walk in LA. I felt a little silly. I was a stranger today in my own beloved city where I confidently drive the long streets to the beach, the hills, the canyons. I love driving in LA. I always have. I was the youngest of my family and my parents never let me drive when I was growing up in rural New England. I lived in New York and Boston afterward and rode my bike and the subway for years. Something about moving to LA and driving myself has always meant freedom and adulthood to me. Much of my work incorporates images I see while driving. Representing that liminal space is something I go back to again and again.
When I went overseas this summer for the first time, I walked and took public transportation all over Paris and London. But it was only when I got to Finland (a country where I could not even read a single road sign), and needed to drive 4 hours north immediately, that I relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief as I got into my rental car.
I enjoyed turning over the wheel today and seeing my city from an different angle, on rail and foot. Although it was disconcerting to me that I was just a little bit uncomfortable as I started out and I am reminded of how we must always break our own boundaries and challenge our sense of place.
In the garden on top of the Disney Hall
Dry as a Bone
Being a naturalist I tend to celebrate the end of the year with the harvest at the end of October. The earth quiets down waiting for winter and the cold days to come. I took a walk very early this morning in Topanga Canyon, where I go a few times a year, to see how things were wrapping up for fall. Although I know California is going through an extreme drought it was sobering to see how dry it really was.
Bleached out.
From the ridge. Looking lush until you look below the canopy.
Even in the cool hollows of the trail where there is always just a faint patch of mossy rock to be found it was bone dry. Dusty and gray. The areas where I always see the trap door spider homes that I did a piece about a few years back was cracked and barren. The eucalyptus leaves hung sadly and the dust rose around me like a cloud when a jogger passed by. There were two deer at the entrance to the trail munching on something, but I couldn't imagine what it was since I only saw a single plant that actually seemed fresh and green. I know the plants here store water for years, but lately it must be a struggle.
Dry hollow.
Drooping Eucalyptus
The only fresh green I saw.
Although the trail was dry, the morning sun still lit up our beautiful canyon plants and somehow even the dry branches seem to glow. As I exited the trail I noticed a new information area outlining the animals of the area, and I was dismayed to the the deer tick is now in the LA canyons. I watch carefully for scorpions, tarantulas and snakes, but now to keep an eye out for that nearly invisible monster seems too much. I guess every living thing here is looking for something to drink!
Golden stalks.
The former home of the funnel web spiders.
Critter trails.
Handmade silkscreen films
I've been revisiting handmade film positives for silkscreen stencils. These are some test films I'm working on. They are made of the magical mixture that simulates lithographic tushe that is made out of old photocopier toner, mixed with alcohol and floor wax.
Film and test print in light blue.
