Journey through a lifetime in the work of printmaker Hugh Merrill, in his words
...My work and approaches to make art have significantly changed, and yet in many ways, they have remained the same. In the past 30 years, I have worked as a community artist, producing complex arts actions both locally and internationally. I have also continued my studio work, including working on sequential etchings each year. 
The two seemingly separate modes of creativity, studio art and socially engaged art, feed and provide freedom and validity for each other. These consistent and varied interests in my life as an artist have always led me to return to that "first" etching. The advice provided by teachers and other artists, and the process I have developed over this time still seems new, deeply valid and refreshes my imagination and desire to engage in a continuing dialogue of creative discovery.
Each new generation defines the values of a discipline. When I started my work in 1968, there were two main currents in contemporary art, pop art and abstract expressionism. These two movements strongly influenced the direction a generation of print artists was taking. Always tilting the present conceptual views were artists such as: Peter Milton, Warrington Colescott, Lynne Allen, Ruth Weisberg and June Wayne. All of these people approached print from the depths of their own unique studio narrative. 
Today we hear of the Outlaws of printmaking: Tom Huck, Bill Fick, Sean Starwars, Michael Krueger, Jenny Schmid and other rambunctious print artists. To a great degree, printmakers have always followed a different drummer, filling the role of outlaws and expressing their own eccentric visions. Where will that vision go next? What new artist and discoveries will grow out of this magic discipline?

Preaching to the Choir: thoughts on contemporary printmaking

Arts & Photography

Merrill, Hugh

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

Chameleon Arts

Homeless, with Honor is the second photography documentary book by Olathe based artist, Sharon Rodriguez. This book chronicles veterans, individuals, homeless families and includes an in-depth portfolio of a homeless camp, giving viewers direct access to the day to day lives of those humans living on the periphery of the wealthy suburbs in Johnson County, Kansas. As with the first edition, Homeless, not Invisible (EMP Books, 2017), there are hand-written accounts of life and experiences of each person included in the book. Rodriguez exhibits a unique sensitivity to the struggle of homeless individuals, and creates from a place of consent and care with a deep conviction in the dignity of these disenfranchised individuals. Much like the purpose of the famed photos of depression era poverty by Dorothea Lange, it is essential that our society be aware of those living at the fringes and Rodriguez achieves this with grace, dignity and ethics. The book follows fourteen individuals, examining their daytime safe spaces and caregivers as well as the camps and cars which serve as sanctuaries by night. Rodriguez also includes information about the whereabouts of folks featured in Homeless, not Invisible, as well as a section of how an interested person can help.

Homeless, with Honor

Rodriguez, Sharon

Photography & Video

“Naked Toes” is a full length book of poetry and Sara’s gift of love to all people struggling with self-love, being vulnerable and having the courage to be the person they are, to embrace their “Inner Wonder Woman”.

Naked Toes

Literature & Fiction

Minges, Sara

Poetry

John Anderson brings more than a decade's work experience in the world of Washington D.C. as a political appointee. This guide neatly explains the ifs, ands, hows, and buts of obtaining an appointment and succeeding at the work. Rich with personal experience, and written in an accessible voice for the politically uninitiated, this guide is a perfect introduction to obtaining a political appointment.

A Plum Job: How to Obtain a Political Appointment in Washington, D.C.

Politics & Social Sciences

Anderson, John W.

Politics & Government

Hugh Merrill tells the story of his family's participation in the Jim Crow south, including the legal lynching of Edgar Caldwell.

Whiteout: a family of privilege