Gallery Exhibit in November

At Frederick Book Arts Center

Opens November 7th

Artist Talk with Ellen Mansfield 11/07/26

"Deaf Line" by artist Ellen Mansfield will be 1 of 3 exhibits opening on November 7th focusing on civic engagement in the arts.

Deaf Line

My art is a testament to presence, rhythm, and memory. It is my way of standing grounded, refusing to be overlooked, and offering a space for genuine connection.

The exhibition Deaf Line explores the vibrant corridor of visual language, cultural resilience, and shared history. This body of work marks a deeply personal evolution in my artistic practice.

The conceptual roots trace back to my 2024 artist residency at the James Castle House in Boise, Idaho, where reflecting on Castle’s linguistically deprived background converged with vivid childhood memories of my grandmother's dining room in Brooklyn, New York—specifically her wallpaper with its golden

curve stripes and golden leaf dots that framed our family gatherings. In this series, I reimagined those patterns into my own design, creating a visual tribute to my background and an intentional claiming of Deaf space.

Translating those memories of domestic space, history, and language isolation into a physical body of work required a rich technical vocabulary. Moving across my multidisciplinary roots in ceramics, painting, and relief printmaking—honed through collaborative studio partnerships at the Frederick Book Arts Center (FBAC) and the complex layering of reduction linocuts developed during my 2026 residency at the Vermont Studio Center—allowed me to build extraordinary visual depth, richness, and narrative.

Works like Green Mountain Gaze and Snowy emerged from the reduction process, while pieces like Silence of Confluence (monochrome) and Sympathy of Echo (color)—both pulled from the same carved block—were brought to life

through press-based exploration, alongside foundational press prints like Resilience Nurturing featuring the I-L-Y signing hand. Together, these pieces emerged from this ongoing dialogue between past and present.

Through inked surfaces, painted gestures, and layered impressions, every work traces a line of sight and belonging in Deaf space. This exhibition is an invitation to step across that threshold and engage the senses.