Biography & Curriculum Vitae
Raised in Colorado in a family of geologists and artists, Emily Silver received an MFA from San Francisco Art Institute in 2007 and a BA from Stanford University in 1973. For two years of her life she lived in Africa: Ethiopia and Kenya.
She’s exhibited her work in numerous solo shows, for example, in Mojave National Preserve (2019), Piante Gallery (Eureka, CA, 2015); McKinley Arts & Culture Center (Reno, NV, 2014); The Springs Preserve (Las Vegas, 2010); The Painting Center (New York, NY, 2002); Morris Graves Museum of Art (Eureka, CA, 2002); and Nevada State Library and Archives (2002).
Artist residencies have provided time to work surrounded in the landscape she loves: Mojave National Preserve (2019), Joshua Tree National Park (2018), Playa Summer Lake, (OR), (2014–2017), and Virginia City, NV (Capitol City Arts Initiative, 2015), for which she is very grateful.
Her awards include Best of Show at Morris Graves Museum of Art (2009); a Cadogan Fellowship (San Francisco Foundation, 2006); a Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship (2005); an Artists Grant from Sierra Arts Foundation (Reno, NV, 1995); and a Wolf Kahn fellowship to Vermont Studio Center (2003). Her work has been featured in Washington magazine (1987) and Catamaran (2013), among others. A monograph was written about her work by Shaun Griffin, poet laureate of Nevada (2015).
Walking in powerful places informs Silver’s art practice. Having completed the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across Spain, she continues to learn through her feet near her studio in Ferndale, California, and, as much as possible, in the Great American deserts of California, Nevada, and Utah.
RESUME
H o n o r s & A w a r d s
2019 Artist Residency, Mojave National Preserve, CA
2018 Artist residency, Joshua Tree National Park, CA
2014,15, 17 PLAYA fellowship, artist residencies / Summer Lake, OR
2015 Artist residency, Capital City Arts Initiative, Virginia City, NV
2009 Best of Show, “A Celebration of the Arts” / Morris Graves Museum, Eureka, CA
2006 Cadogan Fellowship / San Francisco Foundation, San Francisco, CA
2005 Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship / New York, NY
2003 Vermont Studio Center Fellowship / Wolf Kahn, sponsor
2001 Project Grant / McLean Foundation, Fortuna, CA
2000, 03 Project Grants / North Coast Cultural Trust, Eureka, CA
1995 Artists Grant / Sierra Arts Foundation, Reno, NV
Governor’s Purchase (eight paintings), Carson City, NV
1993 Volunteer of the Year / Pioneer Human Services / Sedro Woolley, WA
1985 Winner / Artists’ Competition for the Palouse Peace Prize Commission, Pullman, WA
S e l e c t e d S o l o E x h i b i t i o n s
2019 “On the Mojave Road,” / Kelso Depot at Mojave National Preserve, CA
2017 “Stomping Grounds” / ReCreative Denver Gallery, Denver, CO
2016 “Counterpane,” / Museum of Northeastern Nevada, Elko, NV
2015 “Counterpane,” / Piante Gallery, Eureka CA
. “Counterpane,” / Saint Mary’s Art Center, Virginia City, NV
2014 McKinley Arts and Culture Center / Reno, NV
2013 Paintings / BRIC Building Capital City Arts Initiative, Carson City, NV
. Paintings / Robert Goodman Wines, Arcata, NV
2010 “Periphery: Ten Walks at the Edge of Las Vegas” / Springs Preserve, Las Vegas
2009 “Coyote Heights” / Piante / Eureka, CA
2007 “Ranging” / OXS Gallery / Nevada Arts Council, Carson City, NV
2005 “Water/Desert/Spirit” / Oats Park Art Center, Fallon, NV
2004 "Desert Etudes" / Metro Gallery, Reno, NV
2003 "Desert Etudes" / Piante Gallery, Eureka, CA
2002 "Windows" / Nevada State Library & Archives, Carson City, NV
2002 "Nevada Traces" / The Painting Center, New York, NY
2000 "Neva" / Sierra Arts Foundation, Reno, NV
"Transition"/ Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA
1999 “New Watercolor Explorations” / Sun Mountain Gallery, Virginia City, NV
1997 Recent Paintings / LXS Gallery / Nevada State Legislature, Carson City, NV
Recent Paintings & Drawings / Valhalla, South Lake Tahoe, CA
1995,97 Paintings, Drawings / Western Nevada Community College Gallery, Carson City, NV
1994 Recent Rosary Paintings / C.I.T.Y. 2000 Gallery, Reno, NV
1992 “Rosary” / Paper Stones Gallery, Anacortes, WA
1992 “Wall of Regrets” Washington Department of Corrections, Olympia, WA
1986 Skiathos Drawings / Spokane City Hall Gallery, Spokane, WA
1984 Oil Paintings / Gallery II, Washington State University, Pullman, WA
1981,84 Watercolors / NICA Gallery, Pullman, WA
1978 Hyde Street Pier Drawings / Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA
S e l e c t e d G r o u p E x h i b i t i o n s
2022 “Emptiness,” Exhibizone online exhibition
“Which Way the Wind,” / Synapsis & RAA Galleries / Eureka, CA
2020 “Seven Artists, Seven Paths” / Morris Graves Museum of Art , Eureka, CA
2018 Watercolor USA, Springfield Museum of Art, Springfield, MO (juried)
2016 “Sediments, Sequences, Solitude,” Umpqua Valley Arts Association, Roseburg, OR
2015,2016 “Here and There: Topographical Conversations with Morris Graves,” Eureka, CA & LaConner, WA
2014 “The Horse” / Piante Gallery, Eureka, CA
2013 “Northwest Passages” / Quercus Gallery, Oakland, CA
“Sum of the Parts,” / College of the Redwoods Gallery, Eureka, CA
2011 AquaMiami, with Conrad Wilde Gallery / Miami, FL
“Mapable” / SpaceCamp Microgallery, Indianapolis, IN
“Abstractions 2011” / Piante Gallery, Eureka, CA
2010 “Geological Time” / Conrad Wilde Gallery, Tucson, AZ
2008-2011 Faculty Exhibitions / College of the Redwoods, Eureka, CA
2009 “A Celebration of the Arts” / Humboldt Arts Council, Eureka, CA
2007 Master of Fine Arts Exhibition / San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2007 “The Sky Is the Limit”, Courthouse Gallery, Yerington, NV
2006 Junque Art & Member Exhibitions / Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA
“Untitled,” Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2005 “Dirt, Dust, Danger,” Diego Rivera Gallery, SFAI, San Francisco, CA
2004,2005 North Coast Open Studios / Humboldt County, CA
2002 "Intimate Passages" / Ink People Gallery, Eureka, CA
Arizona Aqueous / Tubac Center for the Arts, Tubac, AZ
2001, 2006 Humboldt Arts Council Juried Member Exhibitions / Morris Graves Museum of Art,
1999 “The Notion of Motion” / Laguna Art Museum R & S Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
“Cairns, Quilts, Contact"/ Ink People Gallery, Eureka, CA (Emily Silver, curator)
1997 Women on Women on the Comstock”/ Sun Mountain Artworks, Virginia City,NV
1993 Northwest Women / Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon, WA
1989 “Women in Washington: First 100 Years” / Pacific Lutheran Univ., Tacoma, WA
1984-88 Fine Arts Faculty Exhibitions / WSU Museum of Fine Arts, WSU, Pullman, WA
1987 Washington-Oregon All Media Exhibition / Maryhill Museum, Goldendale, WA
1984 Silver & Holland Recent Watercolors / Lucy Gallery, Spokane, WA
Paper in Particular / Columbia College, Columbia, MO
1983 Drawings & Watercolors / Foster-White Gallery, Seattle, WA
“The Artists of Mt. St. Helens” / WSU Museum of Fine Arts, WSU, Pullman, WA
1982 Group Show / Rubicon Gallery, Los Altos, CA
S e l e c t e d C o l l e c t i o n s
Chris and Karen Hansen, Fallon, NV
Joshua Tree National Park, Joshua Tree, CA
Dr. Andrew Korson, Denver, CO
Tom Theisen, architect, Skagit valley, WA
California Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (ret)
Del Norte County Department of Social Services, Crescent City, CA
Washington State University Museum of Art, Pullman, WA
Western Nevada Community College, Carson City, NV
Spokane School District #81, Spokane, WA
Washington State Senator Pat & Maxine Patterson
State of Nevada (Governor Bob & Sandy Miller purchase)
S e l e c t e d B i b l i o g r a p h y
Shawn Griffin monograph: “Cartographer of Stone, Silence, and Dust: Emily Silver” 2015
Jean-Marie Simpson Emily Silver Interview, Buzzinearts.com, November 2008
Staff writer Eureka Times-Standard, "Transition: A Sense of Place," August 4, 2000
Staff writer Encore, “. . .A Fine Painter Shows At City Hall,” Summer 1994
Wulff, Jane Elder Washington magazine, “Palettes of the Palouse,” July/August 1987
Reynolds, Dawn Lewiston Morning Tribune, “Self-Portraits,” January 1987
Staff writer Pullman Herald, “Peace Prize Raises Voices Against War,” March 1986
Watkinson, Patricia Art Journal, “Mount St. Helens: An Artistic Aftermath,” Fall 1984
P u b l i c a t i o n s
Featured Artist Catamaran litererary & arts journal, Volume I #4, 2013
Arts Editor & theatre reviews, Ferndale Enterprise, Ferndale, CA
“Art Auctions: To Donate or Not to Donate,” Eureka Times Standard, May 27, 2006
“Arts Everyday”, monthly column & theatre reviews, The Ferndale Enterprise, 2003-present
A r t R e l a t e d E m p l o y m e n t
Teaching
2007-present Associate Faculty in Drawing & Painting / College of the Redwoods, Eureka, CA
2009, 2010 Lecturer in Drawing / Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA
2008, 2001 Instructor / Watercolor Workshops / Sierra Nevada College, NV
2005-2007 Contract Art Instructor / Ferndale Elementary School, Ferndale, CA
1998-2003 Contract Artist / Pelican Bay State Prison, Crescent City, CA
1994-98 Instructor / Drawing, Watercolor, & Painting / Western Nevada CC Prison Program / Carson City, NV
1995 Nevada Arts in Education In-Service Co-Leader / Nevada Arts Council, Elko, NV
1994-95 Art Instructor / Kingsbury Middle School, Zephyr Cove, NV
1993 Instructor / Watercolor & Design / Skagit Valley College, Mount Vernon, WA
1981-88 Coordinator & Instructor for Program in Graphic Design & Illustration / Department of Fine Arts, WSU, Pullman, WA
1982 Instructor of Watercolor / Pullman Parks & Recreation, Pullman, WA
Instructor of Drawing in Nature / Elderhostel, WSU, Pullman, WA
1979 Instructor of Scientific Illustration / UC Extension, San Francisco
Teaching Residencies
1994–2009 Artist-in-Residence / Roster Artist for Nevada Arts Council A-I-R Program
2003 Artist-in-Residence / Arts Everyday at Ferndale Elementary, Ferndale, CA
1998–99 Artist-in-Residence / Rio Dell Elementary, Art Line, HSU, Arcata, CA
1990–92 Artist-in-Residence / Washington State Arts Commission A-I-R Program
Volunteer & Community Work
2020 “Studio Visit” / SFAI Alumni Association (2020
)2000–2004 Art and the Twelve Steps Group Leader / 4 treatment centers, Eureka, CA
2000-2004 Arts Everyday / founder & president / youth arts programming, Ferndale, CA
2001 Consultant / landscape design / Wells Family Resource Center, Wells, NV
1994 Art Instructor & Mentor / Scarselli Elementary School,Gardnerville, NV
1992-93 Art Facilitator / Pioneer Center North / addiction treatment center, WA
Design Experience
1975-94 Principal / Emily Silver Illustration & Design and Silver Fine Book Design
1979-80 Senior Graphic Designer of Publications / Apple Computer, Cupertino, CA
1973-75 Graphic Designer / William O’Brien, Roy Ritola, Inc., San Francsico, CA
1973 Art Director / Moorhead Marketing, Palo Alto, CA
Intern / Ira Stone Advertising, Palo Alto, CA
P r o f e s s i o n a l A c t i v i t i e s
Curatorial: “Sum of the Parts” / College of the Redwoods Gallery, Eureka, CA (2013)
“Nine Square Grid” / Diego Rivera Gallery, San Francisco Art Institute,
San Francisco, CA (2005)
"Art and Recovery" / Ink People, Eureka, CA (2002)
“Cairns, Quilts, Contact” / Ink People, Eureka, CA (1999)
Inmate Art Exhibitions:
Inside Out / WNCC / (1997) Carson City, NV
Razor Wire / Sun Mountain Gallery, Virginia City, NV (1995)
Workshop leader: Continuing Watercolor / Silver Studio, Ferndale, California (2011-12)
Arts All Ways Conferences / Nevada Arts Council, NV (1997, 1998)
China Springs Youth Camp summer camp / Zephyr Cove, NV (1995)
Sierra Arts Foundation / Reno, NV (1995)
Very Special Arts Nevada / Reno, NV (1994)
Lectures: “Artist’s Showcase” / OLLI, Humboldt State University (2016)
“Plein Aire Painting” / Multi-generational Council, Fortuna, CA (2011)
"Art for Peace” / Sane Peace Forum, Pullman, WA (1988)
Memberships: Rostered Artist / Nevada Arts Council, Arts in Education
College Art Association
Humboldt Arts Council, Eureka, CA
Sierra Arts Foundation, Reno, NV
Ink People Center for the Arts, Eureka, CA
Desert Survivors
Leadership: Secretary, Board of Directors, Humboldt Arts Council (2012-2015)
Member, Russ Park Committee / Ferndale City Council
President, Arts Everyday, Ferndale, CA
Scotia Band Board of Directors (2006-2008)
Secretary, Pullman Main Street Design Team, Pullman, WA (1986-1988)
E d u c a t i o n
2007 Master of Fine Arts, Painting / San Francisco Art Institute
1973 Bachelor of Arts, With Distinction, in Art / Visual Design / Stanford University