Anne Hoff’s art work
By Ricardo Torres
Fine arts professor of print making and drawing at the College of Southern Nevada Anne Hoff created original stone lithograph etchings that were commissioned for the Nevada Humanities Awards March 28, 2013.
The inspiration for her art came from Southern Nevada’s landscapes. Hoff’s creativity was sparked during her hikes in Anniversary Narrows, a hiking trail in Lake Mead National Recreation Area. “The Labyrinths that [rocks] create and the beautiful, quiet, powering beauty that they have with nice subtle colors inspired her,” Hoff said.
“Nature is the muse to my art,” Hoff said. Her other artwork has been showcased in several private collections, museums and universities.
According to Tamarind Institute, lithography is a print made by using a press to transfer an image that was initially created on stone or metal plates to paper.
This year, the Nevada Humanities Awards’ ceremony was held in the Nevada Room at the Governor’s Mansion as approximately 150 guests gathered with the honorees to rejoice in a festive environment. A reception, children’s performance and panel preceded Hoff’s presentation of “Passage”.
“It was a beautiful evening in Carson City,” said Bobbie Ann Howell, program manager for Nevada Humanities and a colleague of Hoff at CSN.
“When we present this award, we also like to have an award that reflects an artist’s work from Nevada,” Howell said. According to her, the artists Nevada Humanities wants are those who produce quality work and are quality people.
According to the Nevada Humanities’ website, the awards honored the achievements of six individuals and organizations for their outstanding contributions in the state.
Hoff knew that she wanted to dwell in dessert conditions. What she didn’t know was that the move to the west to attend graduate school at the University of Arizona would lead her to Las Vegas to teach at CSN and to create her stone lithography.
“When I was in graduate school, one of the things that never occurred to me was teaching,” Hoff said. “When I started teaching, I realized that I had a knack for it.”
“You can only find your own voice. Find what makes you incredibly happy and obsessed about, and you go for that,” Hoff said. It is with this philosophy that she changes students’ lives. She helps them find their voices as some of them go on to pursue higher degrees in art. She modestly admits being contacted by students thanking her for the inspiration.
As civilization moves forward, Hoff wants her art and tutelage to help create better spirit and energy. “If my art is that, if my teaching does that, that’s all fine,” Hoff concluded.
Coyote Student News at the College of Southern Nevada 