SUMMER ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: MAKENZIE DAVIS - OPENING RECEPTION

Makenzie Davis is a multimedia artist who creates two and three dimensional work from a reciprocal painting and papermaking process that directly engages the
landscape in which it is made. Her practice includes painting large scale abstracted components of the landscape in which she resides, layering her recycled handmade
paper with organic elements over the compositions as a way to draw attention to aspects of the land and culture that have been built upon, layered over, forgotten, or rediscovered. Makenzie also constructs paper-based column sculptures that reflect on important landmarks of connection between earth and society, exploring the Axis Mudi of meaning for herself, the cultures she admires, and the communities she engages with.

Makenzie grew up in Lyons, CO and received her BFA from Colorado State University in 2017. While teaching and earning her MFA in Painting and Drawing from the University of Hawaii at Manoa in 2022, Makenzie was inspired first by the overlapping histories of the volcanic landscape. After spending three years in Hawaii connecting with the location through the overlaps in its geology and its local and indigenous knowledge, she came back to the Front Range with a similar intention; Honoring the many layers of land and culture of the Front Range, and becoming an active component of how Longmont’s vibrant community continues to build upon them, is how she hopes to make contact with the place she calls home.

CALL FOR COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT – CALL FOR PAPER!
Davis is asking community members to contribute their paper detritus (junk mail, etc) and share stories (family histories, experiences in the landscape, etc) at free paper making workshops to be held on July 15, August 12 and August 19th. The contributed paper will be recontextualized into a material of cultural agency and appreciation for the ground below us. Layering this handmade paper over top of the paintings she makes in the studio connects the beauty of the landscape to an awareness of its complex human history, endangered elements, and unique foliage/wildlife.

The stories that the community shares during the paper making process will give birth to the final layer of the exhibition in which the fingerprints of Longmont residents
are solidified in the surface texture itself. Including the community in the creation of a collaborative landscape will directly reflect the story of this place unfolding from
various contexts, perspectives, and collective histories. Makenzie’s goal is to connect stories across individuals and communities, geology and mythology, past histories and present moments to rediscover Longmont through the Firehouse Art Center’s creative, collaborative environment.

PAPER MAKING WORKSHOPS
Sat, Jul 15, 2023 at 5pm-7:30pm
Sat, Aug 12, 2023 4pm-8pm
Sat, Aug 19, 2023 5pm- 7:30pm
SEPTEMBER 8- VIP EXHIBIT OPENING FOR LONGMONT ARTS WEEK- 6PM-7PM
SEPTEMBER 8- PUBLIC EXHIBIT OPENING- 7PM-9PM

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ARTIST TALKS, WORKSHOPS OR ARTIST BIOS, PLEASE CONTACT ELAINE WATERMAN AT ELAINE@FIREHOUSEART.ORG.