Kristin Gudbrands - New Spring Artist in Residence

Kristin Gudbrands, one of our new two Spring Artist in Residence, answered the following questions:

1.) What college did you attend and what major?

I got my first degree from Reykjavik Technical College, where I studied cabinet making. Later I went to the University of Iceland from which I got a B.Ed. degree (Bachelor of Education) with a major in art and textile education. My most recent degree is from the Corcoran College of Art + Design. From there I have a MA in Art and the Book.

2.) What has influenced your art? What do you mainly work with?

My work has a tendency to be personal and I mostly draw from memory and experience. I am fascinated with insects and use my camera to inspect them up close. I use extension tubes to take closeup photographs of their wonderful colors and textures that are not visible to the naked eye. I then use the photos in my artists’ books. The book form serves me as an artist because to me a book is not solely an object where pages are turned but a medium for artistic expression. It is a sculptural object where experiences take place and perception is challenged.

3.) How long are you going to be staying at Pyramid and what will you be working on?

My goal is to be associated with Pyramid while I live in the DC area, which will hopefully be for a long time. Currently I am one of their spring residents. The residency ends around mid May. I will out of the country for three months over the summer but when I return I hope to volunteer and teach some classes at Pyramid.

Over the past few weeks I have been working on boxes and experimenting with paper. I have been wrapping over beaten flax around circular objects, mainly water balloons. I hope to make hundreds of little paper balls to further experiment with texture and tactility.

4.) Any funny/ quirky incidents that have happened to you while working on your art?

Because of my love of insects, one of the wonderful and funny coincidences I experienced was when a bee appeared floating in my vat while I was starting my residency this spring. It happened as I was about to pull my first sheet. I made sure to pull the bug with the paper.  I let the sheet dry on the mold to prevent squishing the bee. This sheet is in my opinion undoubtedly the most fabulous sheet of paper ever to come out of Pyramid!