Exploring multiplicity and modulation

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Kaitlyn Carr | Credit: Ash Stone

By Colin Bowyer, Communications Manager - April 2, 2025

In the tiny village of Vernonia, about halfway between Portland and Astoria, Kaitlyn Carr, ‘16, grew up in a family of creatives. Carr was always drawing and taking photos, though it was Carr’s high school art teacher, Ms. Allen, who saw Carr’s raw talent and encouraged her to pursue a career in a creative field.  

After graduating high school, Carr bounced around in a few different community colleges in the region before following her sister to Oregon State and finding her footing in the School of Visual, Performing, and Design Arts (SVPDA). While working towards receiving her bachelor of fine arts degree, Carr spent long hours in the print studios of Cascade Hall. One of Carr’s print series that she produced during sophomore year examined sweatshop labor practices within the fashion industry through the creation of a 500 edition, multicolor silk screen run over twelve consecutive hours. 

Then, Carr began exploring systemic pattern repetition in printmaking, which would take her on an artistic journey for the rest of her career.

“I’m not entirely sure why, but I became obsessed with repetition,” explained Carr. “It was always something that stuck with me. It was a meditative process where I wasn’t necessarily concerned with the outcome.”

Guiding Carr’s exploration of repetition was a series of supportive SVPDA faculty who encouraged her to keep going, including Shelley Jordan, Kay Campbell, Julia Bradshaw, Yuji Hiratsuka, Michael Boonstra, Anna Fidler, Kerry Skarbakka, and the late-Julie Green. Carr worked alongside Green as a research assistant for Green’s series "The Last Supper." In the groundbreaking collection, Green rendered the last meal requests of death row prisoners on white china plates. Carr’s work with Green largely consisted of website maintenance, photo editing, and document proofing. In addition to Green's mentorship, gaining access to the "business" of being an artist was Carr’s most valuable educational opportunity at OSU.

“All of the faculty were welcoming, supportive, and pushed me to explore new ideas,” said Carr. “But I felt especially fortunate to be able to work with Julie.” 

Her final mixed-media piece at SVPDA, Navigating Race and Ethnicity, won the Provost’s Art Purchase Award, which permanently displays artwork by graduates of the B.F.A. program on the sixth floor of the Kerr Administration Building. 

When Carr graduated from OSU, she worked at a manufacturing and architectural firm, but returned to Vernonia to teach middle and high school art, following in the footsteps of her mentor, Ms. Allen. 

“Returning to the classroom to teach was something that always excited me,” said Carr. “Ms. Allen and I were in touch and when she was planning to retire, she recommended I try my hand at it. Without her support, while as a student of her’s and after, I would be a completely different person.” 

For four years, Carr taught art at Vernonia middle and high school, bringing her expertise as a multidisciplinary visual artist into the classroom. Just as Ms. Allen was a mentor for her, Carr created a welcoming environment for all students interested in art and supported their individual learning experiences. 

During her tenure in Vernonia, Carr was also creating and exhibiting her own work throughout the Pacific Northwest, but in 2024, a unique opportunity took Carr’s work and notoriety to the next level.

In collaboration with the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT), Carr created two six-story temporary installations on the east and west facades of the SmartPark garage on 10th Avenue in downtown Portland. Carr covered the structure’s existing bricks with 3,000 wheatpaste-adhered Tyvek rectangles creating a binary process, like a computing language composed of ones and zeros.

“I was interested in exploring a larger scale,” said Carr. “I approached PBOT and, somewhat surprisingly, they were also into it. I took their approval and ran with it. After that, I was less afraid to ask for opportunities and they kept popping up .”

Since summer of 2024, Carr has created site-specific repetitive installations all over Portland, including for the Soliloquy Fine Arts exhibition, Yukon Tavern, and King School Park. She continues to collaborate with local organizations to develop new installations in town. 

For current fine arts students, Carr recommends making friends and collaborating with classmates within their cohort, as well as to get to know their professors and stay in touch with them.

“Community and consistency are important,” said Carr. “Art is about showing up for one another and yourself.”