Callie Morton ’22 is PCA&D’s 2024-25 Alumni Artist in Residence

The opportunity for Callie Morton to become PCA&D’s 2024-25 Alumni Artist in Residence came when she least expected it – but step into her studio in Room 403 and you can see that she’s making the most of this opportunity. Large canvases, works in progress, are stacked against the wall while another large piece bearing the words How vulnerable do I need to be? Not for your entertainment, and For me, just in the earliest stages of creation, hangs opposite large windows. 

Since graduating in 2022, Morton’s stayed busy with her own practice. She’s exhibited in a two-artist show at Lancaster Museum of Art, with fellow Fine Art graduate Aubry Maurer, as well as a PCA&D alumni show, Echoes, at the Lancaster City Welcome Center last fall. Yet having her own space on campus, having the opportunity to instruct along faculty members, and preparing for an upcoming exhibition of her residency work, is taking Morton into new areas she’s never explored with her art. 

How did you hear about the residency?

Callie Morton: I’ve kept an eye on the residency since I was a student. Karin (Wengenroth) was the artist in residence when I was a senior. I remember Leah (Limpert Walt)’s residency, too, even Jason (Herr)’s residency, way back. It’s always something I’ve kept in the back of my mind, a reason to create and have that studio practice, the kind of thing that made my senior year successful. 

How has your work changed during this residency?

CM: At the beginning I started by branching off my thesis, which was very emotionally driven. Now I’m bridging the lines: That was my life when I was stuck in heavier emotions, to now. Going in a different line, with new challenges to kind of work through, and that’s how I tend to do it: throw it all on a piece of canvas. 

I’m also getting a lot further into process, starting a lot more abstract than I used to, and love it. It’s intuitive and responsive to what’s happening in the canvas background. I’m using staining and watered-down acrylics to create texture-heavy backgrounds, and combining then with oils. 

What else is influencing your current work?

CM: I’m doing many more preliminary studies. And collaging has been a very big influence on all my work recently. I took an impactful collage class with Caitlyn (Bishop) here, and a printmaking class my senior year that I’d like to combine with everything else. 

What else has been impactful about the residency?

CM: I was teaching a Printmaking I class with Becky (Blosser, Fine Art Chair) last semester. It was very impactful, seeing the students’ ways of answering the same prompts I had four, five, six years ago. When I was a student I was focused on figuring out my own answers, except when it was time for critique. This time, I could be a part of everyone’s solution. 

Who is influencing or impacting your work now?

CM: Becky is forever impacting me. (Assistant Professor, Fine Art/Foundation) Aaron Thompson, same thing. Two others are Jenny Saville and Alex Kanevsky. Jenny has a new body of work from last year that’s a bit different from the work I saw from her during my senior year. The way she creates compositions is important – because I work figuratively I have to pay attention to composition. Everything has to be somewhat intentional at this large scale. Alex, I look at the way his paintings change from one session to another. I saw a recent work of his in New York this winter. Color, form, shape: these are fundamentals of art I can gravitate to both (artists) when I’m struggling. 

What are your goals for this residency?

CM: Finish these paintings! I also want to get involved with the students a bit more. I would love to do some experimental alt process photographs. There are some processes I’ve discovered online and would love to take this opportunity to experiment. 

The opportunity for the residency came when I least expected it. Still, I grabbed it by the shoulders and said I guess we’re gonna do this – so here we are!

Where can people go to see more of your work? 

CM: My Instagram is @calzcreationz.