Living in the Beauty of Autumn

The temperatures have finally shifted so that we can open doors and windows and the monsoon rains have brought lovely skies full of clouds and gardens with ephemeral puddles to the Sonoran Desert.

This month’s updates feature an opportunity to join a group of Experimental Artists in Tubac for the Innovations Symposium December 2-5. Join us for an event, a day or the week.

My art is featured in three local exhibitions: PaperWorks: “Quiet Pursuits” at West Campus, Pima Community College; “I Hear Music” at Tubac Center of the Arts; and “SCULPT: Making Space” at the Tucson J Art Gallery.

I hope you have time to enjoy the warm (not too hot) desert days, the cooling desert evenings, art indoors and outside. And while you’re at it, create a little beauty during your day, even if it is a simple smile.

Love to you all, Kat

Exhibitions / Sales / Artist Opportunities

It’s been a busy start to 2026 and I am grateful for all the fun and opportunities that have come to me after years of dedicated practice of creating. Check out the Current page on KatlasJourney.com

Exhibitions: Raices Taller (Tucson) – Last weekend to see this show. Tubac Center of the Arts (Tubac) runs through March 29th. Murphey Gallery at St. Philips in the Hills (Tucson) runs through April 2nd.

Artist Opportunity: ISEA Brings INNOVATIONS 2026 to Arizona

This December, ISEA invites artists and art lovers to gather for something new in Arizona.

For the first time, the International Society of Experimental Artists (ISEA) will host its annual INNOVATIONS Exhibition and Symposium in the state. From December 2 to 5, 2026, artists from across the United States and around the world will convene at the Tubac Center of the Arts for four days centered on experimentation, dialogue, and creative risk. The juried exhibition will remain on view through early January.

Tubac offers a fitting setting for ISEA’s international community. Located 22 miles from the Mexican border, the town reflects a blend of Southwest United States and northern Mexican culture. Its longstanding identity as an artist destination makes it a natural host for a gathering devoted to experimentation.

Arizona artist and committee member Kat Manton-Jones has experienced firsthand how ISEA supports artistic growth. As a recipient of an ISEA scholarship, she offset expenses for an artist residency in Urubamba, Peru. Later, as an invited speaker, she shared her artistic vision and process.

“Each of these opportunities required introspection. It led me to focus on the type of work I create the evolution of my art over the past few years, and the ability to articulate it to others.”

INNOVATIONS 2026 moves beyond a traditional exhibition. Throughout the week, learning unfolds through workshops, panel discussions, and shared reflection. Workshop educators Carolyn King, Catherine Nash, and Lyndy Runyon will lead hands on sessions focused on material, surface, and form. Panelists for Variations in Artists’ Processes: From Inspiration through Design and Creation include Barbara Jo Borch, Vera Gates, Nath Raye, and April Rimpo, who will discuss how experimentation continues to shape and evolve their work.

Held alongside the exhibition and culminating in a Public Awards Reception and presentation by juror Ash Dahlke, the symposium offers participants an opportunity to step outside routine and return to their practice with renewed perspective.