Ashton Ludden
Emerging Artist Award, Visual and Fine Art

In 2008, she exhibited in six juried shows in Kansas, Wisconson, and Canada. Her work has been published in printmaking catalogs, website features, newspapers, and in international engraving publications. Her engravings have been commissioned by many notable persons in the state including Emporia State University’s President Dr. Michael Lane, Glendo Corporation’s CEO Kim Pember, Emporia State University’s Sorority Alpha Sigma Tau as well as numerous private patrons.

Ludden has successfully completed the Intermediate Engraving Course as GRS Training Center, the Screen-Printing Coruse at Frogman’s Print & Paper Workshop in South Dakota as well as served as a juror for Herington High School’s Annual Art Show.  During Frogman’s Workshop, Ludden was invited to participate in the Small But Well Read: Ex-Libris printmaking portfolio exchange.  This portfolio is one of fourteen portfolios accepted for display in Chicago at the 2009 Southern Graphics Council, the largest printmaking conference in the United States.

In the past two years, Ludden has received twelve academic scholarships from Emporia State University. Most recently, she has received a $500 Undergraduate Research Grant to both attend a printmaking workshop in the summer 2009 and publish her research in the Firearms Engraving Guild of America journal.

ARTIST STATEMENT

The anatomy of the food chain is the compelling force behind Ashton Ludden's work. The images expose the internal unrest of the forgotten animals who are treated as mere objects.

The repetitive process of printmaking itself is in part emblematic of the industrialization of mass production and slaughtering of domesticated animals. Her primary choice of medium - engraving - syncs well with her subjects; as engraving, is often overlooked and undervalued - as are farm-factory animals themselves. Through interviews with farm-factory workers and a thorough research through readings, Ludden has gained a greater insight into the process of raising and preparing animals for mass consumption. Ludden's ambition is to open the eyes of the oblivious consumer to the inhumane treatment of farm-factory livestock and restore the great apprecation humans once had for these redemptive animals.

Ludden has donated her work to the Kansas Museum's Association Museum Conference Auction and the Emporia Main Street Auction. She is a supporter of the Humane Society and will auction two of her works at her Senior BFA Exhibition in 2010, donating the funds for the betterment of animals.

After graduation from Emporia State University in December 2009, she will accept the invitation of master engraver Martin Strolz to study under him at the HTL Metal Design School in Steyr, Austria. After her studies abroad, she plans to continue her education in graduate school, acquiring her Master's of Fine Arts degree in Printmaking.