In 2024 I attended an exhibit at the Natural History Institute titled “Green Guardians: Artists Standing Strong for the Verde River.” In connection with the mission of NHI to foster deeper connections between humans and their natural environment, it invited artists to make and show work that spoke of their own connectedness with our local (and last) free-flowing river in Arizona. The show left quite an impression on me. Some pieces were beautiful, others disturbing, but all spoke in one voice of the essential part that the Verde River plays in the delicate and imperiled environmental balance of northern Arizona.
One artist whose work I particularly noticed in the show was Bonny Stauffer. It stood out not only for the skill and fluidity with which she paints, but also for her unique style of taking two-dimensional images and making them come alive in three dimensions. Her “constructed paintings” are based on sketches and watercolors of places she has visited in the wild.
She takes parts of an image, like boulders or tree branches, cuts bendable aluminum and bits of insulation foam board into the shapes of those parts, then paints and mounts them on layers of clear acrylic. A complete piece may have multiple layers, effectively expressing a sense of touch and space experienced when walking through nature.
Bonny’s process begins with direct experience in the wild. “There is such a flow and fusion between my work and my love for the natural world that I sometimes forget to talk about the ‘why’ of what I do. I hike and paint because at times I’m stunned by this beautiful earth, and I want to share those experiences with others.”
Her pieces are images of specific places where she has sat, photographed and observed, sketched and meditated. She will go out with her camp stool, a sketchpad, watercolors and sometimes her mini iPad. From her chosen spot she will sketch what she sees in a quick line drawing, then turn her stool slightly, sketch the extended view, then keep shifting and sketching till she has a panorama she can later assemble. Back in the studio she puts these together, then paints the whole image in watercolor. From there it becomes a digital piece that she can play with, lift and overlay added and existing elements. Bonny works to convey the connection she perceives between the immediate experience we have of the natural world around us with the greater universe, so often she will add a layer with an image of the nigh sky, like a nebula or a constellation.
A Prescott resident for over forty years, Bonny was always drawn to making art. After raising her kids she took the plunge and went to ASU for a degree in painting, then got her Mastersin educational leadership. She has extensive training in graphic design and had several roles at Yavapai College over 22 years, including overseeing the design and production of the graphics and publications for the college for eleven years, then as full-time faculty and director of the Graphic Design program for seven, then as dean of the Visual and Performing Arts Division for four years.
She loved working in the arts at YC, particularly working in the community-college setting with people who have moved to Prescott, bringing with them developed skills and inquisitive minds. “In a way my YC career was like my artwork; building layers and moving forward by integrating skills and learning new ones as I went along.” Now retired, she can devote her time fully to making art. She has participated in fellowships and retreats in Oregon and Colorado, adding significant pieces to her body of work, and has been in many exhibitions across the West.
Early on Bonny painted in oils, then acrylics, and most recently has taken up watercolor. “I’ve used every skill I know and some that I’ve had to learn.” For some time she manipulated images by taking elements apart, but working digitally (with Photoshop and Procreate) adds a whole new dimension, as well as cutting, painting and attaching additional elements to complete the whole.
She describes her process as making visible the experience she carries in her mind. I guess all artists will say they do this, but Bonny has had to develop new techniques on her own to accomplish it. She has a constructed piece of an Indian paintbrush plant that really pops, not just because of the bright color, but even more from the assembled layers. “Transparent layers are also a metaphor for the layers of our lives, an evolution of all our experiences.”
Looking forward, Bonny will present a solo exhibit at the Natural History Institute called “The Mountain in its Seasons.” She has spent two years visiting Granite Mountain and observing it through the year. The show will offer four large paintings of the mountain to serve as anchors, showing different views for each season and cardinal point. Smaller constructed paintings, drawings and digital paintings depicting areas around the base of the mountain will provide transitions between the larger pieces, giving the visitor a sense of moving through the seasons.
“The show is an exploration of the movement or connection between the cosmos, down to the smallest plant.” Bonny’s work comes directly out of her connection with nature, which makes a show at NHI a perfect fit. She is creating pieces and designing a flow to fit the specific gallery space.
“The Mountain in its Seasons,” the culmination of over two years of focused work, will open for the Fourth Friday Art Walk on October 24 at the Natural History Institute on Marina Street. There will be an evening presentation at NHI on her work, during the two months of the exhibit’s run she’ll offer a hands-on workshop as well. Bonny Stauffer is represented by local gallery Van Gogh’s Ear on South Montezuma Street. More at bonnystaufferart.com.
