katie caron
littleton, colorado, usa
Katie Caron in the midst of assembling one of her installations.
Katie Caron, Neuron in Red, 2020. Laser-cut clay monoprint. 41” H x 31” W x 5.5” D
Katie Caron, Kalidoscape, Meow Wolf, Elitch Gardens, Denver. 2019. Styrofoam, resin, mixed media. Photo credit: Meow Wolf
I had just begun a collaboration with printmaker Lisa DiMichele for an exhibition at in Denver called Pink Progression right when the pandemic hit our region. Arapahoe Community College, where I teach ceramics (and which also acts as my studio) was closed, so all access to the tools we were using to create our installation, such as the laser cutter, stopped mid-process. Our initial concept revolved around aerial photographs of geological changes due to global warming, such as ice sheets melting and salt pools. The work has now shifted focus, to show the virus—represented in polymer clay—spreading onto our aerial landscapes. These forms represent the actual deaths from COVID-19 in Colorado, and forms will continue to be added to the composition throughout the exhibition, as cases continue to rise.
Since we cannot physically collaborate, Lisa and I chat via Zoom about our process. Lisa prints the laser-etched acrylic plates onto paper using her press, and she drops them off at my doorstep, where I hand-cut them all and attach them to different levels of Styrofoam sheets. I’ve been baking the polymer clay onto dress pins in my toaster (because no access to kilns), to form individual elements of the virus, which I then pin onto the Styrofoam forms. Our initial color palette was sublte—using black, graphite, silver and white. A shift in our color choices, to red, pink and green, occurred due to the rapid spread of the virus as observed on the global map.
To be honest, this project is keeping me sane: a sort of art therapy through repetitive acts of cutting and forming clay, while Zooming with friends, family and students. My days are packed, teaching my two young children from home on Google Classroom from 9am-2pm, then heading to my basement studio to teach three consecutive online Ceramics and 3D Design classes on Zoom chats with my students.
Katie Caron, Neuron Forest, 2020. Laser-cut clay monoprint, 41” H x 31” W x 5.5” D. “I am compelled to create work inspired by nature’s geometries, specifically the self-similar branching fractals in our brains: neurons. These discrete nerve cells are composed of dendrites, a series of radiating appendages that gather input from other neurons.”
during the lockdown, KATIE CARON has been collaborating with printmaker LISA DE MICHELE ON A large (12 ft x 10 Ft) walL installation that addresses thE coronavirus, for the exhibit pink progression, which runs at the arvada center, denver, from July 2-November 8, 2020
Katie Caron and Lisa De Michelle, in-progress views (here and below) of as-yet-untitled installation addressing the impact of the Coronavirus on our aerial landscapes, 2020. Laser-etched collagraph on paper, Styrofoam, polymer clay. Wall mounted installation dimensions: 12 ft x 10 ft.
