Carol MacDonald’s mother taught her to knit while growing up in Bedford, NY. Connecting with the beauty of the natural world and easy access to the vibrancy and art of New York City made for a rich and inspiring childhood. She studied drawing and painting at the Maryland Institute of Art and printmaking at the Lake Placid School of Art. In 1974 she moved to Johnson, Vermont to be the art director of the Lamoille County Weekly and to pursue her life as an artist.
“I hear the call to explore our inner riches and make time for ourselves in this distracting, technological world. My intention is that these images evoke the connection to soul that supports healing and regeneration,” explained the artist.
The support of women artists has been the cornerstone of the artist she has become today. The opening of her first solo show “Portraits of a Personal Space” in 1980, at the Wood Art Gallery, Montpelier, Vermont, coincided with the first annual conference of the Vermont Women’s Caucus for Art. Meeting regularly with a group of women artists to discuss art making and to create exhibitions was life changing. Community arts organizing became a major focus from 1981 - 2003.
“Carol’s prints and drawings make one pause to notice the intricacies of knitting as a fiber art and then, after reading her statement about her work, one realizes she is on a thoughtful exploration of life. A pattern is built from a single strand, twists and turns are exposed, mistakes are made, things unravel and are built again. The prints expose the intricacies of the process of knitting, of printmaking, of life. And the color is big and bold,” commented Central Vermont Medical Center President and CEO Judy Tartaglia.
acDonald has exhibited nationally and regionally over the past 30 years. Her work has been seen in many venues including Attleboro Arts Museum in Massachusetts, Lotus Corporation, Cambridge, MA and the Robert Hull Fleming Museum in Burlington, VT.
REGENERATION will be on exhibit in the Central Vermont Medical Center lobby art gallery through October 25th.
