Join us for an evening with artist Carolyn Schmitz, whose imaginative creations transform the familiar into something extraordinary. In her current exhibition, Return to Stone, Carolyn turns from paint and canvas to celebrate her lifelong fascination with the “ordinary” rocks she has gathered and studied for decades. From these unaltered stones, she builds miniature worlds—tiny cities, factories, and faces—that remind us of both the endurance of the Earth and the fleeting nature of human invention. Carolyn will also share insights into her broader body of work, including her beloved animal portraits adorned with hats made from native plant materials, and her inventive nature-based sculptures—polar bears molded from clay circling a pool of crude oil, or a shoe crafted from agave leaves.

A lifelong naturalist as well as an artist, Carolyn translates her deep curiosity about the natural world into art that surprises, delights, and connects us to the living Earth. Come be inspired by her stories, process, and playful imagination.

Carolyn Schmitz was born in Kansas City, Missouri, and moved with her family to the mountains outside Prescott, Arizona, in 1952.