Press Releases

"Up a Creek," which features work by current and former CIA students, opens Friday, September 13 at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 10, 2024

CLEVELAND—Lilly Ross, a senior majoring in Painting and Printmaking at the Cleveland Institute ofArt, is excited to announce her curated group exhibition, Up a Creek, on view at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes in Shaker Heights.

Up a Creek will feature a selection of paintings and drawings that examine the different ways in which current and former CIA students experience their relationship with the environment. Pieces range from drawings of imagined environmental “supermarkets” that comment on humans’ consumeristic nature to abstract pieces inspired by the rhythmic vibrations of natural patterns like light refractions, tree rings, bacterium and cells.

An opening reception for Up a Creek will be held from 5:30 to 7pm Friday, September 13 at the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes (2600 S. Park Blvd., Shaker Heights). The art will remain on view through December 5.

The exhibition features work by CIA Painting alumni DeAnne Smith and Tamsyn Kuehnert, both 2024 graduates, and work by Ross and fellow Painting and Printmaking senior Jamie Brinker.

"I feel like humanity is thought of as separate from the natural world. Historically, the environment has been regarded as something to be conquered or tamed, and not as a complex system humans are a part of," Ross says. "By spotlighting the work of my peers, I want to add diversity to the narratives surrounding art and the natural world and get people thinking about their personal relationships to the environment."

The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes is excited for the opportunity to engage the nearby CIA community with its year-round programming. Community Engagement Manager Nia Turner says the Nature Center hopes to explore new methods of branching out and furthering its goal of inspiring environmental stewardship and getting people excited about the natural world.

"I think art and nature are so closely intertwined that there is so much possibility in what we can offer," Turner says.

In addition to the exhibition, Ross hosted a Botanical Monoprinting Workshop at the Nature Center on August 27 with the assistance of CIA Sculpture + Expanded Media senior Casey Wehrman.

Up a Creek was created through CIA's Creativity Works program, which is made possible by the generous support of the Fenn Educational Fund and the G.R. Lincoln Family Foundation. Creativity Works is a self-initiated internship program with the goal of supporting a student's professional development. Participating students create proposals that align with their long-term professional goals.

CONTACTS

Cleveland Institute of Art
Michael C. Butz, Director of College Communications + External Relations
mcbutz@cia.edu / 216.421.7404

Nature Center at Shaker Lakes
Nia Turner, Events and Community Engagement Manager
turner@shakerlakes.org / 216.321.5935

CLEVELAND INSTITUTE OF ART
The Cleveland Institute of Art is a private, nonprofit college of art and design that has been the training ground for countless students who have gone on to make important contributions to the fields of creativity and innovation since it opened in 1882 as the Western Reserve School of Design for Women. Its students have designed internationally recognized products, their artwork has been exhibited in major museums and private collections around the world, and their entertainment media has been enjoyed by audiences and game players for generations. It enrolls about 600 students nationally and internationally and has a faculty of about 100 full-time and adjunct members, all of whom are practicing artists, designers and scholars.

NATURE CENTER AT SHAKER LAKES
The Nature Center at Shaker Lakes enriches people’s lives through education, innovative programs and community involvement. Founded in 1966, the Nature Center is the result of a large grassroots undertaking that preserved the Shaker Parklands and prevented the construction of a freeway that would have connected Cleveland's East Side to downtown. True to its humble beginnings, the Nature Center continues to conserve a natural area, connect people with nature and inspire environmental stewardship.