Carol Chamberland, Artist-in-Residence for Canyons of the Ancients National Monument, will share her work and vision with the public at 1 p.m. on Sunday, July 1 at the Bureau of Land Management Anasazi Heritage Center. Museum admission is free all day on lecture days.
Chamberland is the third artist this year to spend a week exploring and absorbing the southwest Colorado landscape and creating art in response to the experience. Her presentation will discuss both materials and technique, and comment on how her archaeological background has influenced the creative process.
The Artist-in-Residence program promotes awareness through art of the exceptional places protected within the BLMs National Landscape Conservation System, and provides an opportunity for learning and dialogue about the value of preserving public lands.
The Albuquerque-based artist grew up in Connecticut where she developed an early love for outdoor activities.
I hope that by exploring difficult terrain on foot, and producing exciting imagery of places within the Monument, others will be inspired to make the physical journey themselves, said Chamberland in a written release provided by the BLM.
Previous participants have worked in black-and-white photography and watercolors. Chamberlands mixed media paintings often portray a desert of abstract forms and patterns illuminated by intense and spooky light.
Part of her presentation will show creative digital work based on her years of rock art research. When not painting, she leads volunteer groups who record ancient rock art on public lands throughout New Mexico, and volunteers as a docent at the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
Chamberland will also discuss a more introspective project involving 30 years of annual self-portraits. She believes that all of lifes experiences provide inspiration for the mindful artist.
The Anasazi Heritage Center, three miles west of Dolores on Highway 184, is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call882-5600 or visit www.blm.gov/co/ahc.
