Bio 

Originally from Chicago, Illinois, Vanessa received a BFA from Regis University in Denver, Colorado, along with a Minor in Education and her teaching license. She recently obtained an MFA and Arts Administration Certificate from Ohio University. In 2022, she founded Scavenger Studios in Ashland, Oregon, a printmaking studio that facilitates classes, workshops, memberships and an artist residency program. Vanessa is currently the printmaking Professor and Studio Technician at Southern Oregon University.

Artist Statement 

My work encourages viewers to confront their interactions with the environment by reconsidering their relationship with nature. Acknowledgment of past ecological digressions can inspire a revision of our impact on the land and all its inhabitants. Art is a form of activism and land stewardship that fosters mutualism and intimacy facilitated by the reciprocal act of printmaking. I aspire to evoke deep reverence for the inherent ecological bond with our plant and animal kin before they fade into distant memories due to human negligence.

My most recent work exposes my ritualized obsession with collecting, organizing and illustrating my personal archive of found natural artifacts. Time spent intimately harvesting and working with natural materials not only bonds me to the local environment, it brings intention to the art of collecting. By reproducing these reclaimed remains in copper, I immortalize, preserve, multiply and perpetuate their existence through printmaking.

Vanessa Jo Bahr

Ashland, Oregon
Printmaker, Artist & Educator

Printmaking Professor – Southern Oregon University – Ashland, OR – 2024 to present

Printmaking Studio Technician – Southern Oregon University – Ashland, OR – 2024 to present

Founder & Director – Scavenger Studios – Ashland, OR – 2022 to present

Administrative Assistant – Natural Earth Paint – Ashland, OR – 2022 to present

Education

• Master of Fine Art – Ohio University – Athens, OH – 2022
• Arts Administration Certificate – Ohio University – Athens, OH – 2022
  
• Bachelor of Fine Art – Regis University – Denver, CO – 2011

Organizations

• Rocky Mountain Printmaking Alliance, Board – Membership Coordinator 
• Ashland Gallery Association – Working Studio since 2023
  
• Mid America Print Council – Member since 2019
  
• Southern Graphics Council International – Member since 2019

Residencies

• Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts – Winter Pentaculum – Invitational Printmaking Residency (Gatlinburg, TN) – 2025
  

Panel Talks

• “Cultural Leadership Panel” – Langford Art Gallery (Phoenix, OR) 2025
• “Speculative Archiving” – SGCI – Southern Graphics Council International (Madison, WI) 2022

Demonstrations / Workshops

• “Ashes to Ink: Ink Making Demo” – Mid America Print Council – Kansas State University (Manhattan, KS) 2024
• “Cut Copper Plate + Aquatint” Workshop – Whiteaker Printmakers (Eugene, Oregon) 2024
• “Making Natural Oil-Based Printmaking Ink” – Online Class by Plants and Colour (United Kingdom) 2024

Awards

• Haines & Friends Visual Arts Grant Program – recipient 2025 
• Haines & Friends Visual Arts Grant Program – recipient 2024
• Haines & Friends Visual Arts Grant Program – recipient 2023
• “Rural” – Honorable Mention – Umpqua Valley Arts Association (Roseburg, OR) 2022
• “3rd Annual Juried FPG Print Exhibition” – Honorable Mention – Fresno Print Guild (Fresno, CA) 2022

Exhibitions

• “Printmaking Showcase” – Invitational Exhibition – Miner’s Bazaar (Jacksonville, OR) 2025
• “2025 Members’ Juried Exhibition” – Juried Exhibition by Delita Martin – Gardiner Gallery of Art at Oklahoma State University (Stillwater, OK) 2025
• “Orignal Prints: A National Printmaking Showcase” PrintAustin– Juried Exhibition by Rigoberto Luna – Corpus Christi Art Center (Corpus Christi, TX) 2025
• “Visionary” – Invitational Exhibition – Jack Langford Gallery (Phoenix, OR) 2025
• “Archive the West” – Juried Exhibition by Disparate Projects – Midwest Nice Art – 2025
• “Rogue Valley Biennial” – Ford Family Foundation – Juried Exhibition – Grants Pass Museum of Art (Grants Pass, OR) 2025
• “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” in conjunction with the Nevada County Arts Council – Group Exhibition – Granucci Gallery (Grass Valley, CA) 2025
• “Major Arcana Exchange” – Invitation Exhibition curated by Alanna Austin – Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM) 2025
• “Smoldering Matches” – Group Exhibition – Institute of American Indian Arts (Santa Fe, NM) 2024
• “Memento Mori” – Solo Exhibition – Klamath-Siskiyou Wildlands Center (Ashland, OR) 2024
• “Motley Multiples” – Invitational Exhibition curated by Dennis McNett (Wolfbat) – Paradigm Gallery (Philadelphia, PA) 2023
• “Engulfed” – Juried Show – Artworks Center for Contemporary Art (Loveland, CO) 2023
• “Connect: Collect” – Juried Show – Oklahoma City University, Hulsey Gallery (Oklahoma City, OK) 2023
• “Next of Kin” – Solo Exhibition – Central Art Gallery (Medford, OR) 2023
• “Contemporary Linocuts” – International Survey of Linoleum Block Printmaking Today – Kingsborough Art Museum (Brooklyn, NY) 2022
• “Transcending the West” – Juried Show – Artworks Center for Contemporary Art (Loveland, CO) 2022
• “3^rd Annual Juried FPG Print Exhibition” – Fresno Print Guild (Fresno, CA) 2022
• “Juried Print Exhibition of the Americas” – Full Court Press – Art Center of Corpus Christ (Corpus Christi, TX) 2022
• “Bobcat Print Club Presents: two exchanges organized by Ohio University Alumni” – ArtsWest (Athens, OH) 2022
• “Life is Fucking Weird Exchange” – Columbus Printed Arts Center (Columbus, OH) 2022
• “Rural” – Juried Show – Umpqua Valley Arts Association (Roseburg, OR) 2022
• “WILD LIFE” – Juried Show – Los Angeles Printmaking Society / Citizens for LA Wildlife / Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock (Los Angeles, CA) 2022
• “Vestiges” – MFA Thesis – Ohio University Art Gallery (Athens, OH) 2022
• “Paper & Clay” – International Juried Exhibition – Utah State University (Logan, UT) 2022
• “Foraging Ahead” – Juried Show – Pittsburgh Print Group / Brew House Association (Pittsburgh, PA) 2021
• “Small Works Show” – Juried Show – Labyrinth Studios (Tampa, FL) 2021
• “Litho-Lino-Mono-More” – Juried Show – Dayton Society of the Arts (Dayton, OH) 2021
• “Women of Appalachia” – Juried Show – Dairy Barn Art Center (Athens, OH) 2021
• “Silver Lining” – 2nd Year Graduate Exhibition – Ohio University Art Gallery (Athens, OH) 2020
• “Breaking Ground” – Juried Show – Wild Goose Creative (Columbus, OH) 2020
• “Precipice” – 1st year graduate exhibition – Trisollini Gallery – (Athens, OH) 2020
• “Imbricated” – Group Show – Arts West (Athens, OH) 2019
• “Reincarnation”– Solo Show – O’Sullivan Art Gallery (Denver, CO) 2015
• “Six Degrees of Separation” – BFA Thesis Show– O’Sullivan Art Gallery (Denver, CO) 2011
• “Mile High Rock Poster and Art Expo” – Aloft Hotel (Broomfield, CO) 2011

Collections / Portfolios

• “Smoldering Matches” – MAPC Mid America Print Council (Manhattan, KS) 2024
  
• “Wandering Woodcut” – MAPC Mid America Print Council (Manhattan, KS) 2024
• “Connect: Collect” – Oklahoma City University, Hulsey Gallery (Oklahoma City, OK) 2023
  
• “Life is Fucking Weird” – Columbus Printed Arts Center (Columbus, OH) 2022
  
• “Found, Reclaimed, Reformed” – MAPC Mid America Print Council (Kent, OH) 2022
  
• “Seams – Falling Apart” – Curated between Ohio Univ., N. Illinois Univ., Univ. of Iowa – MAPC Mid America Print Council (Kent, OH) 2022
  
• “Ohio University Alumni Exchange Portfolio” – In honor of Art Werger’s Retirement – ArtsWest (Athens, OH) 2021
• “Remote Contact” – University of Tennessee – Printmaking Symposium (Knoxville, TN) 2020
• “Heart’s Desire” – Dead Matter Press (Portland, OR) 2019
• “Divine Interventions of Nature” – Installation purchased by Regis University’s Chemistry Department – Permanently installed in Felix Pomponio Science building (Denver, CO) 2011

Publications

• “Life & Work with Vanessa Jo Bahr” – Canvas Rebel – January 2nd, 2025
• “Meet Vanessa Jo Bahr” – Canvas Rebel – October 10th, 2024
• “Fire Season” – Artist Book – 2nd edition – 2022
• “Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation” – A United Plant Savers Publication – 2022
• “Journal of Medicinal Plant Conservation” – A United Plant Savers Publication – 2021
• “The Hand Magazine” – Issue 32, April 2021