Department of Art
Coming Soon
Christen Booth was born in Pennsylvania and with many stops along the way, now lives and works in Fairbanks, AK. She鈥檚 always had more creative energy than she鈥檚 known what to do with. She completed her foundation year at Tyler School of Art right out of high school, then joined the Army after feeling the pressure of paying for school. In the Army she learned digital graphic design and 鈥渕arketing鈥 principles as a Psyop Specialist. These skills transferred back to civilian jobs in graphic design and marketing. In 2004 she moved to Fairbanks, AK and has been working at UAF as an instructional designer ever since, tying together the collection of broad design and communication skills she鈥檚 collected over the years. During this time she completed her BFA, with a focus on sculpture and metalsmithing. She is currently the Creative Director at the UAF Center for Teaching and Learning, and works in her home studio making with metal during her off hours.
While working at UAF, she discovered that the intersection of metalsmithing and sculpture is the perfect outlet for her energy and a voice for things that are hard to put into words. Her pieces usually take shape from metal, stone, and glass 鈥 each with tactile qualities that invite the viewer to hold, use or wear them. Recent work explores the context of her geographic location through imagined wayfinding devices. The devices are manifestations of personal journeys which allude to the unseen influences that have directed her around the earth. Mapping and wayfinding conventions are the vernacular through which she processes these journeys. The natural world brings constant inspiration.
