Johnna Arnold

all good things must come to an end, and the #terrestrialextra exhibition @dorskymuseum has closed. i pushed myself to make a wall about how we live with petroleum (#inoneformand/oranother), and i’m so glad i did. it was a great experience and left me excited with lots of ideas on where to go next. it was important to draw directly on the wall for days on end, making time spent visible. i’ve appreciated every conversation, every question, and all the things i’ve learned along the way. it’s wild how quickly things are shifting right now. when i made the wall (two months ago) oil was barely in the news, and i naively thought it might stay that way. we live on a global scale now, and there are clear breaking points all around us. this wall wasn’t intended to demonize or celebrate petroleum, but simply to show how deeply interwoven it is in our lives — a substance that, only a few hundred years ago, we largely ignored. with everything happening politically, it’s hard not to feel the urgency of it. i'm hopeful that this renewed pride in oil reliance is a last gasp, something that will force the reckoning we keep postponing. through making this wall, what i’m left with feels pretty clear: oil has transformed our culture and the planet in ways that are both enabling and damaging. it’s on us now to pay attention, to shift, and to find ways to back off. it’s hard to hold the larger implications of our actions. it can be painful, and it slows things down in ways our culture does not reward. slowing down has become a luxury, yet it’s integral to finding our way forward. thanks to my longtime photo/art/what-the-hell-is-happening-to-our-world friend @the.susannah.slocum for taking photos of me, and thanks to everyone for seeing, sharing, talking, considering (and for pointing out that i accidentally wrote “vegan leather” on the wall twice). here’s to the future my friends ❤️

Next level awesomeness brought to you by the dynamic co-hosting duo of @jscottyca and @johnnack live art and music on stage is always a great combo! Super awesome to see the rest of the @zedstarseven crew as well!

Club/Draw Session 135 Tuesday April 7th 8pm @quinnsrestnrant Guest hosts @johnnack and Scotty Arnold Killer music by @zedstarseven Rad flyer by @johnnack and Scotty!

i'm back at work on a new ceramic piece but not feeling ready to share it, so for now i'll share a piece i made a few months ago (and its little friend) ... working title: of course. when i spoke with some friends a few weeks ago i found myself celebrating how nice it is to work in a format that i'm not officially trained in, partially because it allows for beginner's mind, partially as an action that successfully shorts the cerebral criticism that's become the backbone of an art education, and partially, if i'm honest, an acknowledgement that photography is currently being slaughtered by tech & AI. this important change feels lost in the other carnage that is piling up so quickly right now... anyhow, it's fun, it's been a refuge for me, a way to allow my body and my subconscious to play a larger role in what i make. here's to accepting ourselves and others as we are, here's to making space to work intuitively, and here's to doing our best to stay grounded in this complex reality no matter how hard it may be. And be so cautious of the manipulative and addictive AI beast my friends, do not let it become your guide

There will be a casual walk-through of the #terrestrailextra exhibition tomorrow afternoon with @goldenkinstudio . I love this exhibition and am proud of my installation as a part of it... & it's only up for two more weeks!! scarcity mindset / fellow procrastinators: if you're in the area, please come! Thanks & see you soon @dorskymuseum @gokateshoot @corinnebeardsley

i'm beginning to glaze this lovely creature and thought we should celebrate its existence in case it doesn't make it through the next firing. tentatively titled: one way and/or another. I just keep glaze testing... and hoping octavia and the crew @thenewburghpottery will continue to put up with me 💗🔥✨💪🤳🏽🦾🐉

I’m so happy to have made the wall drawing One Form or Another as part of the Terrestrial Extra exhibition at @dorskymuseum . It’s great to read @matt_moment ’s historical perspective on the show in the @timesunion — I agree the show is “more than the sum of its parts.” The exhibition is up for another month. I’d love to meet you there — just send me a message. 🎉🔥😍

I’m so happy to share this wall drawing I've made for the Terrestrial Extra exhibition at the Dorsky Museum, "one form or another". The show brings together Hudson Valley–based artists whose work considers how industrial materials pulled from the Earth’s surface, or extracted from its depths, become integrated into our visual field. In my application, I suggested updating the map of oil I originally printed in my From Inside This Earth book, and then to draw it on the wall around my photos. One week and many dark-brown markers later, here she is. I’ve been in awe of the magic in historical alchemical drawings, and their passion for transformation. And this map shows how we're transforming one thing into many others. Instead of water into wine, it’s the remains of beings into disposable plastic whatnots…but transformation nonetheless. In their own way, the photos and the map allow for a new perspective on Oil. This piece is a coming together of my East Coast past: learning to make C-prints at Bard, the time I ran away to join the Bread & Puppet circus, and the ground-up learning that changed my life through teaching at Sprout Creek Farm. I thought these crazy passions would never come together, but here they are, woven onto a wall in New Paltz, NY. Terrestrial Extra, guest-curated by Alta Buden (@altabuden ) and Craig Monteith (@northamerrorica2 ) of @roundaboutsnow_ Gallery in Kingston, NY OPENS THIS WEEKEND! Hudson Valley Artists 2026: Terrestrial Extra At the @dorskymuseum at SUNY New Paltz Opening Reception Saturday February 7, 4-6pm Featured Artists: @johnnack @corinnebeardsley @andrew_brehm @joseph_burwell @thesilvercranes @dan.devine.studio @_saffr0nia_ @bethkhaber @licata22 @ritamacdonald @maher_marykate @sharimendelson @dancefacehumanstew @adie_russell @charlotte.schulz @kentaro.takashina

I’ve been busy mapping out how petroleum is currently used in our society, examining how fossil fuels have found their way into almost every aspect of my life. I’m delighted to share my work among this group of talented artists. Opening February 7: ‘Hudson Valley Artists: Terrestrial Extra’ Join us for the 19th iteration of The Dorsky’s annual exhibition series featuring contemporary art made by artists in the Hudson Valley. Guest-curated by artists Alta Buden and Craig Monteith, ‘Terrestrial Extra’ explores how remnants from stone and sand quarries, cement factories and clay pits—stone, glass, cement and clay, along with products and byproducts including steel, wood and charcoal—are also generative art materials. 🗓️ On view February 8–March 29, 2026 🎉 Opening Party: 4-6 pm February 7 📍 The Dorsky Museum at SUNY New Paltz @licata22 @johnnack @ritamacdonald @bethkhaber 
@thesilvercranes @lorimerhige @_saffr0nia_ @andrew_brehm 
@adie_russell @corinnebeardsley 
@joseph__burwell @dan.devine.studio @charlotte.schulz @sharimendelson 
@takashina_kojo @marykate.maher @altabuden @roundaboutsnow_

After two years of playing with clay I’ve extruded some fairly ridiculous candle holders. I’m not sure what this says about my practice, or my personality, but they make me laugh.

Winter has arrived and with it I’m working away on my studio in the making, aka basement, unpacking and digesting and preparing for new projects. drafts and ideas from west and east coasts. Fiddling is something I haven’t had time for in years. It’s painful, fun, Important, scary, a cumulation from darkrooms, printers, clay and ink to now be digested by whoever I happen to be here now today. We reach we shape it is beautiful it is hurtful it is what we do.

Our Closing Celebration this Sunday will feature a silent auction of work generously donated by artists featured in this year's exhibition. Pictured here: Johnna Arnold, Energy and Form no.4 Katarina Jerinic, Gowanus Canal Liz Nielsen, Through the Crystal Ball Niki Lederer, On the Black, Pas de Deux in Pink Rob Mounier, Good Vibes + Work from @mcnulty_alison @amoeda @minin.art @sonyablesofsky