Emily C Orzech
Education
- M.F.A., University of Michigan
- B.A., Smith College
Teaching Interests
I approach teaching art as a process of experimentation. Students begin my classes by learning a set of skills from the ground up. They are then encouraged to experiment to obtain unexpected results. In printmaking, students collaborate with each other to create screen printed installations on the studio walls. In a mixed-media drawing course, students first learn to draw the figure and then create self portraits that incorporate photo transfers, paint, and collage.
One of the most rewarding aspects of teaching in the liberal arts is the creative energy that comes from classes that combine students from all different majors and backgrounds. Students are encouraged to share interests and develop ways of visually communicating their ideas, finding their unique artistic voices.
As a graduate of a liberal arts program myself, I believe that the most meaningful art comes out of a strong intellectual foundation in multiple disciplines. In my teaching I encourage students to bring their interests into the classroom, and I create opportunities for collaboration and experimentation.
Research, Scholarship, or Creative Artistic/Interests
Research Interests
I am a mixed media artist whose work has recently focused on caregiving and memory. I began a series of work in response to an experience of caregiving for someone with cancer. This work has broadened into a new series about caregiving in families. I work primarily in printmaking, a medium that allows me to layer digital information such as photographs, with painterly marks. I also incorporate elements of drawing, digital media, textiles, and paint. I have developed previous series of prints and photographs that explored the social and political dimensions of urban space, which developed out of a Fulbright grant and a subsequent research trip to China.
Selected Shows
- Solo show, Crane Arts and Crane Old School Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 2017.
- The Winter Show, invited show (4 works), GreenHill Center for NC Art, Greensboro, NC, 2017.
- Urban Village: Solo Show & Visiting Artist, invited show, for the inauguration of the Printmaking and Drawing Concentration, Gatewood Gallery, University of North Carolina Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, 2015.
- Expectation of Privacy Exchange Portfolio Show, Justin Diggle juror, SGC International Conference, Knoxville, TN, 2015 & Renke Art Center, IMPACT conference, Hangzhou, China, 2015.
- Sphere of Existence Portfolio Show, James Boyd Brent and Josh Bindewald jurors, SGC International Conference, Knoxville, TN & acquisition for the collection, James Ford Bell Library, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, 2015.
- Ink! Amze Emmons, R.L. Tillman, and Jason Urban jurors, Slipe Gallery, Hartford, CT, 2015.
- Artist’s book in the Floating Library, juried show, Cedar Lake, Minneapolis and Lake Winona, Winona, MN, 2014.
- Featured artist, invited show (10 works), the View on Elm, Greensboro, NC, 2013.
Selected Residences and Grants
- Residency, Spark Box Studio, Ontario, Canada, 2017.
- Visiting artist at the Glasgow Printmakers, Glasgow, Scotland, 2015.
- Tamarind Institute Plate Lithography Workshop, Albuquerque, NM, 2013.
- Fulbright Fellow, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing, China, 2011.
- Mixed Media Drawing
- Printmaking I
- Printmaking II
- Robert C Williams Award for Junior Faculty, Muhlenberg College, 2019
- 2026 [Im]possible Parallels, SGCI themed portfolio, juror: Alicia Candiani, edition of 6 prints, to be exhibited at exhibition at Proyecto´ace, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- 2024, Paper Toys: Visual Wonder, group portfolio, juror: Jennifer Scheuer, edition of 11 objects, to be exhibited at: Southern Graphics Council International Conference, Rhode Island
- 2023, Bedside, solo show, Buckham Gallery, Flint, Michigan
- 2023, Finding and Feeling: Encounters in the Archive, group portfolio, (jurors: Ruben Castillo and Amy Cousins), edition of 20 prints, exhibited at: Mid American Print Council (MAPC) conference: The Power of Print Resistance, Revolution, & Resilience, Kent State University, Kent, OH, and in the permanent collection of MAPC
- 2022, Speculative Futures: Visions from Printmaking Caregivers, group portfolio, (jurors: Katie Ries and Carrie Scanga), edition of 15 prints, exhibited at: Southern Graphics Council International Conference (SGCI) and in the permanent collection of SGCI
- 2022, Queer Printmaking and Futurity, group exhibit (jurors: Ash Amenta and Becca Owen), exhibit is part of the Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI) Conference, Backspace Gallery, University of Wisconsin Madison
- 2021 Mid-American Print Council Juried Members’ Exhibition, (jurors Jennifer Hughes and Mildred Beltré), Drewelowe Gallery, University of Iowa
- 2021 Parsing Dreams, Printmakers Open Forum Broadside Salon virtual exhibit, (curators: Adam Finkelstein and James Meara of The Hand Magazine)
- 2021, Camp Portfolio, group portfolio, made up of former participants of PrintCamp residency
- 2021, Susceptible Proteins, solo show, Hall Gallery, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS
- 2020 Transpositions 3: Mind the Gap, online exhibition, (curators: directors of the Saint Petersburg Art Residency, Russia)
- 2019, The Time Being, solo show, Oresman Gallery, Smith College, Northampton, MA
- 2019 Between Tenses, group portfolio, (juror: Beth Sheehan, Printer at Durham Press), edition of 18 prints, exhibited at: Southern Graphics Council International Conference (SGCI) in and in the permanent collection of SGCI
- 2019 Between Tenses portfolio, (juror: Beth Sheehan, Printer at Durham Press), edition of 18
Art
Professional website: emilyorzech.com
Contact: emilyorzech@muhlenberg.edu