and Poppies Adorned Her

June 24, 2024 - September 23, 2024

Ann Klingensmith's original prints are mostly created using the relief process. She utilizes gouges and knives to carve and remove the non-image into either wood, linoleum, or both. Klingensmith then applies the ink, using pressure to transfer the ink and image onto paper. These works are built up with many intricate layers.

Her images are narrative in nature, reflective of personal experiences, and Klingensmith's response to those experiences. She thinks of her work as a visual diary revealing internal conversations. This selection of artwork spans 24 years, reflecting the richness of endured challenges and Klingensmith's shifting understanding of these experiences over time. These images are evidence of her great joys and sorrows, love and loss, contemplation and release.

Ann Klingensmith recalls her mother's love for roses, thorns and all. Klingensmith's love resides with poppies. She states, "Poppies are not neat like roses - they are all over the place - thick, colorful, raging beside the shed." This artwork has been patiently awaiting, with the orange-colored lithograph prints used in this piece tucked away for approximately 30 years. Klingensmith muses, "A self-portrait, beyond the cancer diagnosis and treatment. I try not to define my life by cancer or stroke. Poppies are maybe my armor - floppy, erratic, full of color, and fleeting in the wind."

Ann Klingensmith earned her BA in Studio Art from Graceland College. She went on to receive her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa in Printmaking. Klingensmith is also a Professor Emeritus of Art at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant.

To view more of her work, please visit annklingensmith.com