Marion Women’s Club will present a free hands-on art workshop for the community on Thursday, June 11, designed to connect the past with the present by using historic glass slides found in the Club’s archives.
Presented by Professor Kate Shannon, The Ohio State University’s 2025-2026 Artist Laureate, the workshop is titled “Let Us Be Large: Reaching Across Time through Art.” It begins at 5 pm in the historic Women’s Club Auditorium.
“Our goal is to bring these historic Women’s Club photos back ‘into the light,’” explained Shannon, who is traveling across Ohio as part of her laureate position. “Participants will create their own cyanotype– a 19th century process – using historic glass photos from the Women’s Club archives featuring women portrayed with the tools, uniforms, and symbols featuring their community contributions.”
No supplies or experience is needed.
Shannon hopes to help connect participants with their community by using historic photographs and processes.
“Ohio State History Professor Margaret Sumner and Women’s Club Archivist Keily Cunningham, both Women’s Club board members, recently introduced me to a remarkable collection of glass slides from the 1930s,” Shannon explained. “They feature portraits that Women’s Club members made of themselves to celebrate a Club anniversary. I thought it would be meaningful to work with Women’s Club members and guests to bring these small portraits back into the light through a creative workshop.”
During the workshop, Shannon will guide participants to create enlarged handmade prints of the 1930s-era portraits using a simple historic photographic process. Members will be able to add their own personal and creative touches to the prints, creating “new” artworks that connect past and present generations of the Club. Supplies will be provided but guests have the option to bring old pieces of jewelry, items from nature or other small treasures to be used to embellish the artwork.
Participants will be able to take their one-of-a-kind piece of artwork home, or they may contribute it to be shared at the Club’s America 250 Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social July 19 and at future Club events.
Shannon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at The Ohio State University. Her work explores photography’s relationship with memory, materiality, and the digital age. She has received the Ohio State Mansfield’s Campus Awards for both “Excellence in Scholarship” and “Excellence in Teaching.” She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Kentucky and her Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University.
Members and guests are asked to register for the free workshop by June 5; email WomensClubHome@gmail.com with “ART” in the subject line, or call the Club at (740) 387-1366.
