#067 - Summer Camp - Kelly Knaga
#067 - Summer Camp - Kelly Knaga
Destination: Camp Wandawega, Elkhorn, Wisconsin
Date: 20 - 24 September, 2020
About Kelly Knaga
In her work, Kelly Knaga investigates the natural and digital landscapes through the play of shape, image, color, line and pattern. Her work utilises historical and sometimes fictional references through anthropological studies, mapmaking and storytelling. Working from Chicago, she combines her art practice with being the Director of Design Education at Indiana University Northwest, and several other design organisations in Chicago.
You can find more work of Kelly on her website: www.kellyknaga.com
Summer Camp
Kelly Knaga is one of the four artists of our Jaunt Summer Camp 2020. Together with four other artists we are sending them for a short and pleasurable retreat at Camp Wandawega, just two hours outside of Chicago. Connecting with each other, with nature, and sharing creative processes along the way.
Details about the print
Dimensions: ± 50 x 70 cm
Medium: three colours silkscreen print
Edition: 50 prints, signed and numbered by the artist
A little word by Kelly…
“The Summer Camp was truly a lovely distraction from all the difficult things happening in the world right at this moment. Things I used to take for granted were now a novelty. I almost felt a little bit guilty about it all, to be honest. I got to dance by the lake at dawn, draw in the treehouse in the afternoon and go for long walks before the sun set. The food we were served was incredible, and the menu that was created for us was restorative, incredibly delicious, and comforting.
A great deal of my childhood growing up was spent on my grandparents' farm, which was 100+ acres or so. The tree-lined roads, the creek that divided the neighboring farm, rows of vegetables in my grandmother's garden next to the chicken coop, rows of corn, soybeans, and hay that my grandfather meticulously farmed and that my brothers, cousins, and I would play hide in seek in, the barns and silos, all the climbing trees, feeding the animals at night with my grandfather, and catching lightning bugs with my grandmother after dark...these are memories that I will forever treasure and experiences that really impressed upon me how powerful the land is, how powerful Mother Nature is. I grew up with an understanding that we cannot tame or control it. We can only work alongside it with love and respect.
I love experimenting with different processes and materials. However, the land and mother nature always sit in the center of everything I make, and that includes my tools, so I've been trying to be more selective with my materials and careful about my usage. I try to use recycled materials or reuse found materials, and when I can, I work out my ideas digitally first to be more conservative. Inspired by this trip, I made some sketches on my iPad and in my paper sketchbook, which led to a variety of final pieces and mediums. There remains a lot of disconnect for me in the digital process but I'm still learning how I can make work and be a better steward of the land. It's an interesting process and I know I'm making a lot of mistakes but it's important to me that I keep trying.“
