Capital City Arts Initiative

Exhibition Dates: November 16, 2015 – March 11, 2016
Artist’s Reception: Wednesday, December 16, 10am – noon
Exhibition Venue: Sierra Room, Carson City Community Center 851 E. William Street, Carson City, Nevada

Botanical Impressions 
Exhibition in the Sierra Room

In her Botanical Impressions, Claudia Knous presents hand-dyed silk wall-hangings. She finds inspiration for her work while hiking in the Carson City foothills; creative ideas and solutions come to her while she is on the trail.

The Capital City Arts Initiative [CCAI] announces its exhibition, Botanical Impressions, by artist Claudia Knous at the Carson City Community Center’s Sierra Room from November 16, 2015 – March 11, 2016. The Community Center is located at 851 E. William Street, Carson City.  There will be a reception for Ms. Knous on Wednesday, December 16 from 10am – noon in the Sierra Room.

Ms. Knous uses varieties of botanical leaves and fibers to “eco print” the silk fabrics. The eco print technique, developed by Australian artist India Flint, transfers the color from leaf pigments onto fabric. To develop the colors and images, she uses a variety of leaves including eucalyptus, oak, plum, maple, poplar, willow, rhubarb, alder and apple. She also uses pine needles, avocado skins/seeds, and onion skins. The fabric is pre-treated to accept the leaf and plant colors. Then she tightly rolls the fabric and plant materials together and steams the bundle in a dye bath for hours.

Claudia has developed dyeing processes for wool and silks fibers for nearly twenty years. She has participated in multiple art shows in San Francisco and Los Angeles. In Reno and Elko, she presented her work with the “Wild Women Artists” and attributes her development and growth in her artistic creativity to this talented group of women artists.

Claudia graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing from California State University, Fresno. She worked 32 years as a nurse in Intensive Care, Emergency Room, and elementary and high schools. In 1975 she moved to Alaska where she lived and worked until 2002. Following retirement, she and her husband moved to Carson City.

During the exhibition, Claudia will give a talk about her artwork to art students at Carson High School in Carson City, Nevada.

The Sierra Room is open to the public during Carson City official meetings including every other Thursday 8am – 5pm, and most weeknights Monday – Thursday, 5pm – 8pm. For Sierra Room access, call 775.283.7421 or check meeting schedules online at http://www.carson.org/index.aspx?page=14  The exhibition is free and the public is cordially invited.

The Capital City Arts Initiative is an artist-centered organization committed to the encouragement and support of artists and the arts and culture of Carson City and the surrounding region. The Initiative is committed to community building for the area’s diverse adult and youth populations through art projects and exhibitions, live events, arts education programs, artist residencies, and online projects.

CCAI is funded in part by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, Nevada Arts Council, Nevada Humanities and the National Endowment for the Humanities, City of Carson City, U.S. Bank Foundation, and John and Grace Nauman Foundation.

top right image: Claudia Knous in her Carson City studio
2nd image: Audacious, eucalyptus and oak leaves on Habotai silk, eco printed, collaged, stitched; 37″x14″; 2015
3rd image: Claudia giving her talk at Carson High School art department, 2/9/16
bottom image, left: Eucalyptus Muse, eucalyptus leaf, berry & bark, eco printed, collaged, stitched; 14.5″ x 23.5″; 2015
bottom image, right: Botanical Impressions exhibition flier