Ann Johnston-Schuster Brief Biography I am a teacher and artist. I was born in Southern California and now live in the State of Washington. I received a BFA from the University of Southern California, where I studied under Ruth Weisberg. During my undergraduate studies, I was fortunate in experiencing art beyond the academic setting when I traveled around the world on the Semester-at-Sea College Voyage. I also hold an MFA in Printmaking from California State University, Fullerton and an M.A. in Education from California State University, San Bernardino. For the past eighteen years, I have taught studio art, art history and art education at the junior high, secondary, and collegiate levels. I am currently head of the Visual Arts Department at Pierce College in Washington. I was an Associate faculty member at Mt. San Antonio College and Irvine Valley College. I have also taught at Orange Coast College and California State University, Fullerton. In 2005, I was the Artist in Residence for the Regional Print Centre at Yale College, Wrexham,Wales. I am a member of both the Los Angeles Printmaking Society and the College Art Association. I was also invited to become a member of the Boston Printmaking Society. My prints have been included in over eighty juried exhibitions since 1995. The following are some of my recent exhibitions: Collateral Damaged Solo Exhibition, First Prize Award, Washington Printmaker's Gallery, Washington D.C., Los Angeles Printmaking Society 19th National Exhibition, Wrexham Print International 2007, Wrexham Wales, Boston Printmakers Invitational Historical Exhibition, 2007 North American Print Biennial, 2006 Delta National, The Greater Midwest International XXI, 2006 Pacific States National, Hilo, Hawaii, Los Angeles Printmaking Society 18th National, The 2005 “Wrexham Print International”, Wrexham, Wales, The 13th International Print Biennial Exhibition in Seoul, Korea, The Sixth Bharat Bhavan International Print Biennial, Bhopal, India, The 12th International Print Biennial, Seoul, Korea, The 16th Annual Greater Midwest International, Warrensburg, Missouri. I feel honored to be included in several important private, public and corporate collections, including: Eagon Industrial Company, Seoul, Korea, Dee Roy and Mary M. Jones, Cal State Polytechnic University, Portland Art Museum, University of Santa Barbara Art Museum, Duxbury Art Complex Museum, Graphic Chemical and Ink Company, United Lithograph, Self-Help Graphics, and Arkansas State University. Artist Statement: In my woodcuts, I endeavor to redefine personal vulnerability, not as a constraint but as a link to our humanity. The figures in my artwork are children that have fallen victim to the physical and emotional constraints placed upon them. Collateral Damaged refers to the inclacuable and resonating damage incurred by war. In a society built upon the precepts of aggression, their vulnerability leaves them isolated and forgotten. On Deaf Ears… presents a stoic young woman’s hope to speak to a system that is indifferent to her well-being. Through a cadence of linear reiteration my varied striation of gouge marks creates a still-video effect. This ornamental miasma of line ensnares the figure as a metaphor to the physical, social and mental limitations created by our disregard and apathy. I have begun to paint my imagery to further enhance a more hyper realistic colorized presentation of this reality. Ultimately, to instill a sense of order, my artwork provides a haven that protects and insulates the subjects represented. The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all convictions, while the worst are full of passionate intensity... W.B. Yeats