Connie Saddlemire

Connie Saddlemire first began “making art” while living in Taiwan, as a child, during the mid-1950’s.  She also visited Japan during that time and soon afterward moved to New Mexico.  The visual impressions from these locations were revealed in Saddlemire’s aesthetic sensibility as she became an artist, during the late 1960’s and 1970’s, while living in Upstate New York and  Massachusetts.  Frequent visits to the galleries and museums of New York City, throughout her adult years, have continued to be an influence on her work, as well.

Saddlemire holds a BA from St. Lawrence University and an MA in Studio Art (Lithography) from State University of New York at Albany.  She has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group shows across the United States and is in a number of public and private collections.

Since 2008, Saddlemire has been living and working in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

Artist Statement

My current work, both in solar plate monoprinting and in altered photography, is inspired by what I see every day at my home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado: tiles on the floors, Native American and Mexican rugs, a quilt on my bed and hayfields outside of my windows.  Often these involve some kind of functional grid pattern— even the hay gets baled and stacked, once a year, into a structure that forms a grid.  In my artwork, as far back as the 1970’s, I have made images that could be called grids, but are never strictly, or simply, just grids.  They are also explorations of color, texture and the possibilities of what a line can do and be.  An awareness of the edge, both externally and internally, is also important in my work.

When it comes to deeper significance within my artwork, I encourage viewers to discover the meaning that my images evoke for them, personally.  My titles, like small snippets of poetry, are glimpses into my own life experiences, or the experiences of others with whom I’ve had a connection.  Now and then, there are also titles that reveal my sense of humor!