07/29/14
From exhibitions to writing reviews, Linda Ganstrom, professor of art and design at Fort Hays State University, stays active all summer outside of the classroom.

Ganstrom was selected to display three pieces: "Alice," "White Queen" and "Red Queen" from her series "Through the Looking Glass Ceiling" for the "Women Ceramic Sculptors: Dynamic Narratives" exhibition at the National Association of Women Artists in New York from June 3 through July 2.

"My research into the lives of historically significant female leaders began during my sabbatical," said Ganstrom. "A few years ago, my Ceramics One students designed a group project based on the Mad Hatter's tea party from 'Alice in Wonderland,' and I began looking at the way those female leaders were portrayed."

Ganstrom was invited by the Tennessee Art Guild to display two figurines, "The March Hare's Daughter" and "The White Rabbit's Daughter" from Aug. 1 to Aug. 26 in Nashville, Tenn.

From June 8 through June 12, Ganstrom traveled to the University of Texas at Tyler to give an external review of its department of art and design, sharing her opinions of the strengths, challenges and opportunities.

"I admired UT Tyler's lovely campus and park-like setting in the piney woods of East Texas," said Ganstrom. "I was able to share with them some of my ideas about potential areas to develop, especially online and with low-residency education. I appreciated the opportunity to learn in depth how another art department operates, and they gave me a CD with some Western Swing songs about Texas as a bonus."

Ganstrom wrote a review for artist Swoon's "Submerged Motherlands" exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. The review is published online for Eutopia's Contemporary Art Review at http://eutopia.us/swoon/. This is the fourth review she has written for the museum.

"Thinking and writing about great art is a treat," said Ganstrom. "To write a review in 100 words is like writing a poem. Every word must count."

Ganstrom has recently been mentioned in a number of publications, including Ceramics Monthly and the Korean publication of Ceramic Art Monthly, for organizing and co-curating "Flow: The 2014 National Council Education for the Ceramic Arts Invitational" at the Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin.

"I did a call for work," said Ganstrom. "I visited gallery owners and artists, selected the work exhibited, and did a variety of tasks to bring the exhibition to the public. I was actively involved in creating the catalog to document the exhibition. It was a big job with major payoff, as the ceramic art looked stunning in the awe-inspiring architecture of the Milwaukee Art Museum."

As the exhibitions director and executive board member of the NCECA for the last six years, Ganstrom has curated and directed 17 national and international exhibitions.

This fall, Ganstrom will install a solo exhibition of "Linda Ganstrom's Bell(e) on Progress: Lindsborg" on Aug. 15 at Bethany College and will host a performance reception Sept. 5.

Also, Ganstrom will host the Kansas Artist Craftsmen Association Conference at FHSU on Nov. 7 and Nov. 8. FHSU will exhibit a national competition in the Moss-Thorns Gallery from Oct. 17 through Nov. 8.

Ganstrom has been teaching for 34 years, the past 20 at FHSU. She is a member of the National Council on the Education for the Ceramic Arts and Kansas Artist Craftsmen Association.