KARA HAMMOND: OPEN STUDIO

Gallery and blog for the art of Kara Hammond


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Suburban Herd

There is a dedicated herd that roams our neighborhood, ignoring property rights, boundary fences and the persistent stares of passersby.  They are opportunistic foragers, devouring nearly everything that’s green, except the weeds you wish they’d eat. All foliage from the ground to about 5 feet high has been stripped bare and many native plants are suffering, not just the pansies and azaleas.ImageImageImageImage

Having such large wild creatures wandering around the driveway holds a certain fascination for me, even knowing the damage they cause. It’s clear that the dynamic tension of natural processes is interrupted by over-abundant human incursion, and there is no easy fix.

How would our suburban deer fare with less sentimental predators who only occasionally cull their herds with the bumpers of SUV’s? How would things change if we had wolves and mountain lions patrolling the cul-de-sacs?  More rhododendron, less tabby cats? One thing’s for sure, there are lots of vultures around.


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About the Work

from the Smithsonian Library, 2013

(photo from the Smithsonian Library, 2013)

The paintings and drawings I make are generated primarily from photographs I take in everyday life. Some work is based on historical print material, the results of which are transformed into original work through hand-rendering images into a new context.

As the blog title suggests, much of my art is from the perspective of working indoors, moving from one climate controlled space to another, by means of the climate-controlled automobile. My experiences are filtered through that lens, the glass of comfort and safety, also of remoteness and alienation. Technology often figures prominently as a subject, particularly in relation to nature.