Eileen Ferara at Guttenberg Arts

In dialogue

the Immense Activity of Being Alive II, 20 x 26 in, Lithograph with watercolor and colored pencil

During her time at Guttenberg Arts Residency (STAR), Eileen Ferara spent much time in the Gutten Garden, an urban community garden maintained by the organization. The plants—fruits we eat and companion plants we call weeds—became the focus of her drawings. She collected soil, seeds, and leaves, bringing bits of the garden into the studio to keep that connection alive. The Guttenberg Residency offers three months of access to professional workspaces for printmaking and ceramics. Eileen used goldenrod and indigo plants to dye paper for her prints. In the print shop, she worked through the process of stone lithography, gaining a hands-on understanding of the medium.

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Conversations with her fellow residents—watching their projects develop and trading ideas—were just as important to the experience. At the end of the program, Guttenberg Arts supports each artist with a group exhibition and studio visits from arts professionals. Residents also present either a public lecture or a free public workshop. Guttenberg Arts promotes each STAR fellow through print and online platforms, exhibitions, and art fairs. Artists are selected through a blind jury process, judged solely on the strength of their work. While housing isn’t provided, the residency gives artists like Eileen space, time, and access to tools—everything they need to make the most of those three months. Eileen Ferara elaborated on her experience at the STAR Residency for Art Spiel.

What did you take away from this residency?

My biggest takeaway from this residency centered around reconnection, both to the printing process and the power of plants. I knew that I really liked drawing on litho stones since I had taken lithography classes in college. Coming back to it, I discovered so much by working in the studio independently, which is very different from the school environment. Immersing myself in the garden space, I felt part of a greater whole. Gardens offer amazing opportunities to work with nature in a manner that is beneficial to the plants and people. Spending time here led me to contemplate my family’s relationship to the world of the garden. What knowledge about gardening was a part of my history? My family has lived in the city or suburbs for so long, but I imagine we all must have some plant knowledge that was lost generations ago. I’m looking forward to seeing where the ideas that began in the residency will show up in my work in the coming year.

Detail of Installation at Guttenberg Arts

What did you exhibit in the show?

For the exhibit, I created an installation that features a selection of the lithograph print variations that I made during the residency, along with some of the plants that I collected. The prints are all inspired by my time in the garden. Each piece in the exhibit is unique since I explored printing on different papers, chine collé, plant dyes, and adding other media to some of the prints. Wanting to bring a sense of the magic of the garden to the exhibit space, I included bunches of dried plants, bottled garden samples, and a table with handmade cards I created using portions of some of the prints. It is reminiscent of an altar.

Installation at Guttenberg Arts

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About the show: Space in Time is a dynamic group exhibit featuring work by the Fall 2024 Artist Residents Eileen Ferara, Danielle Rodriguez, Zheyu Wang and Osy Milian. The show includes a variety of work including ceramics, etching, lithography and painting. The exhibit is currently on view by appointment through January 25, 2025. Guttenberg Arts is located at 6903 Jackson St, in Guttenberg NJ. To schedule a visit contact STUDIO@GUTTENBERGARTS.ORG / 201-868-8585

All photos courtesy of Megan Maloy

About the artist: Eileen Ferara is a visual artist whose work is focused on our human relationship to the environment. Drawing inspiration from the natural world, she creates paintings, prints, sculptures and installations based on observation, research and speculation. Ferara’s work has been included in many exhibits in the United States, including a recent solo exhibit at The Hutchins Galleries in Lawrenceville NJ. She is a recent artist-in-resident at Guttenberg Arts, and was a 2024 Liquitex Artist in Residence. In 2022 she received a Jersey City Arts and Culture Individual Artist Fellowship, and a Puffin Foundation grant for an ongoing paper making project. Her work is in the collection of the William Paterson University Galleries, Memorial Sloan Kettering, The Lawrenceville School, The King St Stephens Museum of Hungary, and numerous private collections. She has an MFA from the School of Visual Arts, and a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design.