Clara Nulty ’14
Studio Art Major
Based in Longmont, CO and Bloomfield Hills, MI
She/Her/Hers
“My practice centers on observation, watercolor, and redaction. My paintings are meticulously crafted with attention to detail while also embracing the unpredictability of watercolor. I render subjects with an eye towards limiting information — embracing negative space, leaving out information, or zooming in tightly on a subject, thereby abstracting it. I explore the concept of absence as an indicator of what it means to have been present.”
Professional Life Post-Carleton
2021
- Flat Files program at Ortega y Gasset
- Attended Cranbrook Academy of Art to receive an MFA in Painting (expected May 2021)
- Published on the American Scholar blog (article by Noelani Kirschner, also Carleton class of 2014)
2020
- Recipient of a scholarship to attend a class at Anderson Ranch Art Center
2018
- Solo exhibition at Cooper and Dash gallery in Denver
Favorite memory of life at Carleton
“My favorite memory has to be the first time I ever talked to my now husband, Ian Heinzman (class of 2013). We were on the bus on the way to a field trip at the Walker Art Center with Stephen Mohring’s Intro to Sculpture class in winter 2011. We debated the merits of Norman Rockwell. A Boliou romance for sure!”
Favorite memory of studying with Dan Bruggeman, Fred Hagstrom, and Linda River Rossi
“Dan Bruggeman was a mentor to me the moment I stepped on campus as a freshman. Having placed out of introductory drawing classes, I signed up for Life Drawing with Dan for my first term at Carleton. In the process of registering, Dan asked that I come meet him with my parents on orientation day. My parents and I bustled into Dan’s office (I think in the basement of Laird at that point?) that September. Dan took one look at my parents and said ‘Don’t worry, she’ll be just fine!’ Thank you, Dan for your constant support, wisdom, and guidance.
“I went on Fred Hagstrom’s Winter in the South Pacific trip in 2013. I think this trip was a really formative moment when I started figuring out my own artistic voice. In my final meeting with Fred of the trip to review my sketchbook, he told me my work was ‘contemplative.’ It is a word that has continued to be true for me, both an apt descriptor and shaper of my practice. Thank you, Fred for your concise insight.”