Beth Klingher
Beth Klingher. Artist & Educator.
I have been an artist and educator all my life. I love getting my hands dirty – clay, grout, dirt, or dough. My first love was clay – where I built both abstract sculptures and functional pots. More recently I have discovered mosaics. I am intrigued with the textures and patterns, and the intricacies of creating a work of art one tiny piece at a time. I create landscapes – both realistic and abstract – to reflect or make sense of what I see in the world around me.
I spent ten years teaching math in New Haven public schools and continue to work as a teaching artist with schools exploring the connections between math and art. I offer a number of unique arts integration workshops including “Teaching Math Through the Art of Sol LeWitt,” which uses abstract art to teach math, pre-algebra and algebra. I have also worked on a number of small and large-scale mosaic murals including a 40 foot long world history mosaic timeline, mosaic panels for the West River water shed, and a number of historical murals at schools all over Connecticut.
As one reviewer stated:
Each of her imaginative mosaic constructions is a symphony of visual and tactile materials– glass, ceramic, stone, and pottery. This lively exhibit of abstract geometric designs, stunning undulating landscapes and playful patterns of color is a joyful concert for the eye that is not to be missed.
Bio
College: Studio Arts Major
In college I majored in ceramic sculpture, creating a series of pit-fired abstract landscapes for my final senior project. Although I loved working with clay, it wouldn't pay the rent, so after moving to NYC, I expanded my job search to include anything art-related.
First Career: Cut & Paste Artist
My first job was as a cut and paste artist (yes, with a exacto knife and rubber cement) creating bank forms for Chase Manhattan Bank. Although this job did not last long, it introduced me to computers and allowed me to move on to designing computer systems using some of the first personal computers used in the business world. I decided to return to school further my knowledge and opportunities in technology.
Second Career: Software Designer
After getting my Masters degree in Management from MIT, I began working for Reuters helping to design their financial software for traders and portfolio managers. Four years later, I left to start my own software development company –
Willow Solutions – based in New Haven, CT. After 17 years with the company, I decided it was time to move on and I sold the company to my employees.
Third Career: Math Teacher
At this point, I had two young children and had been spending more and more time volunteering at their school. I loved working with the students and soon decided to become a teacher. Through the Alternate Route to Certification (ARC), I gained my certificate as a middle school math teacher. I spent most of my nine years in teaching at Worthington Hooker School, a small neighborhood public school in the East Rock neighborhood of New Haven.
Fourth Career: Artist and Teaching Artist
It is now time to return to the art world. I have continued to work in clay, both on and off the wheel, but have expanded to other mediums, most noatbly, mosaics. I have also explored ways to integrate my interest in art with math and have developed a number of projects and approaches to bring my love of both art and math to my students. I now spend my days working in the two areas I love most: teaching math and creating art.
Exhibitions
Mentors & Makers, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA - January thru July 2021
New England Mosaic Society Member Show, Spring 2021
Mosaic Arts International Winter 2021 - Society of American Mosaic Artists Virtual Show
Class Act 2021, Gallery of Contemporary Mosaics, Chicago, IL - Winter 2021
New England Mosaic Society Spring 2020 Virtual Exhibition - Award: Artistic Distinction
Art at Yale Health, Yale Health Center, New Haven - September 2019 thru March 2020
Art in the Orchard, Easthampton, MA - Autumn 2019
Post Road Art Center, Marlborough, MA - June 2019
One Hundred Moments in Mosaic, SOFA Chicago - Winter 2018
Creative Arts Workshop Faculty Show, New Haven, CT - Fall 2018
Shrewsbury Library, Shrewsbury MA, April - June 2018
Leonardo Challenge, Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT, April 2018
Somerville Museum, Somerville, MA, February – April 2018 Award: Artistic Distinction
mActivity Member Show, New Haven, CT January – February, 2018
City-Wide Open Studios, ArtSpace, New Haven, CT, October 2017
Leonardo Challenge, Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT, April 2017
Art in Pieces, Solo Exhibition, Green Street Art Gallery, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT August 2016
Leonardo Challenge, Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT, April 2016
City-Wide Open Studios, ArtSpace, New Haven, CT, October 2015
Signs, Ravenna Mosaico, Fourth International Contemporary Mosaic Festival, Ravenna, Italy, November 2015
Make.Art.Work, Koffee, New Haven, CT, July 2015
All Kirkland Art Show, Hamilton College, Johnson Gallery Kennedy Center, Clinton, NY, June 2015
Make.Art.Work, Summer McKnight Crosby Gallery, Arts Council, New Haven, CT, June – September 2015
Mosaics at the Mill, Arlington, MA, March – June 2015
Leonardo Challenge, Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT, April 2015
City-Wide Open Studios, The Armory, New Haven, CT, October 2014
Community/School Projects
Sol LeWitt Inspired Mosaics, Integrated Day Charter School, Norwich, CT Spring 2018
Moments in American History, Lincoln Middle School, Meriden, CT Spring 2018
Pieces of the West River, Mosaic Panels on Blake Street, Westville, New Haven, CT, Summer 2016 – Spring 2018
Historic Mosaic Murals of Colchester, Jack Jackter Intermediate School, Colchester, CT, Winter - Spring, 2017
Sol LeWitt Inspired Mathematical Mural, Lincoln Middle School, Meriden, CT, Spring, 2017
World History Mosaic Timeline, Worthington Hooker Middle School, New Haven, CT, October 2014 – June 2018
Mosaic Panels, Elm City Prep, New Haven, CT, January 2017
Sol LeWitt Inspired Mathematical Mural, Jack Jackter Intermediate School, Colchester, CT, Spring, 2016
Mosaic Hopscotch Court, Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden, CT, July-August 2015
Algebraic Mural Inspired by the Art of Sol LeWitt, High School in the Community, New Haven, CT, May 2015
Mathematical Mural Inspired by the Art of Sol LeWitt, Martin School, Manchester, CT, April – June 2015