This month, we chose to spotlight some of our female members who have contributed to the growth and artistry present here at WNYBAC to celebrate this year’s Women’s History Month!
Meet Katy Sloan, our Studio Volunteer & Teaching Artist working every week to create custom handmade prints. She has been with us since last summer and loves coming in to work on little projects to perfect her printing skills.
Katy was born and raised in Buffalo and returned here from SUNY New Paltz, New York, where she was working on finishing up a BFA in Printmaking and a BS in Art Education. She originally enrolled to become an art educator, but her love for printmaking made her choose to study printmaking as well. Her day job is working as a student educator in a photography class at Williamsville East.
Now every Saturday, you can see her working on Mandy the Mangler creating a variety of different handmade prints, marketing materials, and merchandise for the WNYBAC shop. She also loves the process of learning how to typeset. She said working here has given her the chance to learn the process of letterpress printing and she appreciates the technique behind the complicated art form. Volunteering here also gives Katy experience working in a professional space. “My favorite thing to do here is learn!”
This Women’s Month, Katy has been working extra hard creating a new project to unveil to celebrate and empower women.
Katy Working on her Women’s Month Postcards Project
“I am creating a series of postcards that contain quotes from famous women throughout history,” she explained about her project. Her goal is that people see these quotes from famous women and are reminded that women are out here everyday working hard and being successful.
One of the finished Postcards!
Katy said it is important for her “to look back on where [her] gender has been, and remember how much [women] have progressed in our quest for independence and recognition.” This project is meant to encourage women to push boundaries and work to fulfil their goals and dreams.
Katy’s advice to women this month is to reflect on their achievements and feel proud; then get out there and achieve more!