On Display: March 5–June 21, 2025
Reception: May 1, 5–7pm
Workshop: May 2–3, 9am–4pm, Register for the Workshop

About the Work: "The hand lettering in this exhibition was a critical part of my creative practice. Each morning, for years, I sketched at the kitchen table, with coffee in hand, listening to the news, or watching birds in the backyard. Themes that emerged ranged from politics to gratitude, nature, grief, or nonsense. While these works offer a snapshot of a specific time, they still resonate.

I set simple rules for drawing: no pressure to be good; and no expectation of selling or exhibiting the work. I posted some drawings online to stay accountable for regular practice. I enjoyed the creative play of choosing words to write—specifically thinking about letter forms, color, and shape. After becoming a mother in 2021, I shifted to other creative outlets squeezed in during office hours or the rare day when my child was in daycare and I did not have work.

After years of creating many drawings, I decided to exhibit the work. Because the original drawings exist in bound sketchbooks, the decision to exhibit was contingent upon devising a meaningful way to display reproduced images. The works in this exhibition come from sketchbooks dating between 2017 and 2020."

This exhibition features inkjet prints of scanned hand-lettered drawings and drawn patterns that are then creased, sewn, and mounted to the wall. The pieces are shown in this way, so they have a unique presence and allude to the book format. 

Workshop Opportunity

Offered in connection with the Hand-Lettering as Creative Practice exhibition is the Hand-Lettering to Letterpress as a Creative Outlet Workshop with Kathleen O’Connell on May 2 & 3. It explores related themes and techniques.

Kathleen O’Connell (she/her) is an educator, printmaker, book artist, type and lettering enthusiast, mother, stepmother, amateur gardener, perpetual organizer, and former ferry boat deckhand—all of which inform her artworks and artistic practice. She works and exhibits nationally and internationally and teaches Book Arts, Letterpress and Print Media courses at Middle Tennessee State University.

Portfolio: www.kathleenoconnell.net
Instagram: @kathleen.a.oconnell