The Red Awl is an artist-run project space located in a 100+ year old building in the small town of Clarkdale, Arizona. The building contains studios, a workshop, a copy room with a vintage Xerox machine, and a 242 square foot office lobby that serves as a project and exhibition space. The Red Awl was launched in 2022 by
Karen McClanahan and Steve Lauman with a mission to create, exhibit, and promote handcrafted, quirky, and often humorous artists’ books (bookworks) and fine art multiples.
“We are advocates for an analog approach to drawing and writing: a drawing instrument in hand, on paper, is a direct connection to the brain which has the potential to unlock cognitive superpowers.”
The Red Awl was one of three venues in Arizona participating in Slow Art Day April 13, 2024, a worldwide event that promotes extended looking as a way to engage with art. We featured four tiny ink on paper drawings by Karen McClanahan, excerpts from a bookwork (four of thirteen distinct original “plates” intended for reproduction in a handmade publication). They are small – measuring in at 1 in. by 1-5/8 in. – slightly larger than a postage stamp. The size of the work offers a unique […] Read more
