Holly A. Senn

In April 2018 I updated my art website, ryksenn.com. Now my site features photography along with the sculptures and installations I have created. You’ll find a page with my formal photos and a page that displays my Instagram feed, which I update often. About my Photos I started taking photos of botanical… Read more

While on a contemporary art pilgrimage in 2013 to Naoshima Island in Japan’s Seto Island Sea I encountered one of Yayoi Kusama’s iconic pumpkin sculptures (see above). Years later I read Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama and learned about Kusma’s intentional use of dots to explore obliteration and infinity,… Read more

“Shipping” a photo by Holly A. Senn of a cargo ship on Commencement Bay Update I’m pleased to announce that one of my photographs will be exhibited by Punch Projects in Ellensburg, Washington in April and five of my photos were recently published in The Arrow: A Journal of Wakeful Society,… Read more

Barnacle images that will inspire TAIP grant project, “Affix.” I’m pleased to announce that the Tacoma Arts Commission has granted me a Tacoma Artists Initiative Program (TAIP) funding award to create a new project titled “Affix.” The grant will allow me to create a new series of sculptures inspired by barnacles… Read more

Environment and Learning project website: www.environment-learning.com Lately I’ve fielded a lot of questions about what I’m working on, so here is an update: While I’ve been studying barnacles in preparation for creating a new series of sculptures, I’ve been devoting the bulk of my time to taking photographs, and setting… Read more

Swallow Nests | 2013 | 19x30x14 | Holly A. Senn Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Art Award & Exhibit I was one of the nominees for the 2014 Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Art Award, a regional art award designed to recognize the talent and commitment of local artists to the Pierce County community.… Read more

Floating Leaf | 2014 | 12x36x12 | Holly A. Senn Backstory on “Floating Leaf” sculpture Tacoma’s 22nd Maritime Festival received funding from the Tacoma Arts Commission for an exhibit of artist-made boats, using recycled materials, to be displayed at the Foss Waterway Seaport. The exhibit is curated by artist Lynn Di Nino.… Read more

Here’s an excerpt from Dave R. Davidson’s Tacoma Weekly review of my Stump Stasis video, “Senn’s video is eye-opening and refreshing. It is vital to have someone remind us to pay attention to the visual splendor and the drama that is always around us.” Read more

[click on the image to go to video]

When a huge tree stump washed up on the Tacoma waterfront I became fascinated with both the object and its environment. The stump is over five feet tall and, depending upon the light, the color ranges from golden to ash. The root structure and the trunk are a juxtaposition of crevices and smoothness. The landscape and seascape surrounding the stump provide their own narrative of change.

My video Stump Stasis documents the equilibrium of the stump and Commencement Bay over several years—how the stump and the environment change and do not change. This film creates a contemplative space for viewers to consider relationships between forms and landscapes. Read more

As a nominee for the 2014 Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Art Award, I was interviewed and my responses were published on the Foundation’s blog. You can read the article here, http://www.gtcf.org/blog/artist-spotlight-holly-senn-1 Read more

A few of my wasp nest sculptures are in the Moss+Mineral group show “Natural Spectacle: Art and Eco-Furnishings” opening Saturday, June 7 (reception 1-5pm). For more info see http://mossandmineral.com/2014/05/19/new-show-opening-june-7/. Read more

My sculpture “Marsh Wren” is  in the  Puget Sound Book Artists 4th Annual Members’ Exhibition June 5–July 31 at Collins Memorial Library. Join me for the reception on Thursday, June 5 from 5-7pm. Read more about the show  at http://www.pugetsound.edu/news-and-events/campus-news/details/1306/ Read more

I’ll be in the Moss + Mineral group show “Natural Spectacle: Art + Eco-Furnishings” opening June 7. Here’s the blog post about my work in the exhibit, http://mossandmineral.com/2014/05/18/of-birds-and-bees-and-pulp/. Excerpt: “Nature investigator and artist Holly Senn designs wasp nest sculptures that are not textbook representations – yet their raw material is… Read more

Here is my new video [click on the image to go to video] that highlights the inspiration for and works created in my installation “Scavenged” that was exhibited at Kittredge Gallery Oct. 7 to Nov. 9, 2013. “Scavenged” was inspired by birds’ nest specimens in the Slater Museum of Natural History.… Read more

I have been nominated for the Greater Tacoma Community Foundation  2014 Foundation of Art Award. The award  recognizes the role art plays in the community and to honor professional artists in the the region. From the Foundations’s website: “Each year, more than a dozen artists are nominated and one is… Read more

Two of my sculptures are in the group show at artEAST Art Center in Issaquah, Washington, February 8–March 22, 2014. Read more about the show here:  http://arteast.org/2014/01/undercover-stories/   Read more

Here is a video [click on the image] that highlights my talk at the Art+Science Salon on Feb. 21, 2013 at the Tacoma Art Museum that explains how my art is related to science (through investigation, experimentation, transformation, & convergence). Read more