photo by Jesse Mullan
Chandler O’Leary was born 50 miles
west of Wall Drug. She is a graduate
of the Rhode Island School of Design
(RISD), with a BFA in Illustration and
a year in Rome under her belt. Her
work includes artist books, illustration,
graphic design, textiles, letterpress
printing, and drawing, to name a
few. Her books and prints are
collected and exhibited internationally.
Chandler lives and creates art
full-time in Tacoma, Washington.
Visiting Instructor, Letterpress: Old Dog, New Tricks,
Penland School of Crafts, Penland, NC, 2012 (upcoming)
Panelist, The Art of Social Media,
Tacoma Arts Symposium, Tacoma, WA, 2011 (upcoming)
Board Member, Book Arts Guild,
Seattle, WA, January 2009 - December 2011
Featured Artist, Roadworks,
San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA, 2011
Selection Award, Public Art: In Depth, City of Tacoma, 2011
Featured Presenter, Art & Industry,
Ladies of Letterpress Conference, Asheville, NC, 2011
Featured Artist, King's Books Wayzgoose,
Tacoma, WA, 2009 - 2011
Tacoma Artists Initiative Program Award,
City of Tacoma Arts Commission, 2009-2010
Lecturer, Local Conditions,
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA, 2010
Panelist, The Art of Small Press Publishing,
Olympia Timberland Library, Olympia, WA, 2010
Visiting Artist/Lecturer, Pressing Matters,
Pierce County Library, Gig Harbor, WA, 2010
Washington State Library, Olympia, WA, 2010
Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma, WA, 2009
Honorable Mention, Art vs. Design competition
Artists Wanted Collaborative, 2009
Nominee, Greater Tacoma Community Foundation
Foundation of Art Award, 2009
Featured Artist, SVC Wayzgoose,
School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, WA, 2009
Artist-in-Residence, MN Center for Book Arts (MCBA), 2007
Panel moderator, MCBA Symposium, 2007
Winner, MN Book Award, fine press category, 2005
Visiting Artist/Speaker, MN State University Moorhead, 2003
Book Art Object, Codex Foundation, 2012 (upcoming)
Adventures in Letterpress, Random House, 2011 (upcoming)
Fingerprint No. 2, HOW Books, 2011
"Small Exhibit Inspires a Big Love for Mount Rainier,"
Tacoma News Tribune, 26 November 2010
1000 More Greetings, Rockport Publishers, 2010
"On a Mission," Tacoma Weekly, 14 September 2010
"Because Women's Work is Also Art," City Arts, June 2010
"Changing the World One Broadside at a Time," Kiki,
Volume 3, Issue 3, Spring 2010
"The Future of Print," City Arts, April 2010
"Symbols of Home," Tacoma Weekly, 20 October 2009
"End of the Line," Tacoma Weekly, 26 August 2009
"Doin' It By Hand," Weekly Volcano, 20 August 2009
"Slum Sparrow Millionaire," City Arts, May 2009
"The Curator's Eye," City Arts, February, April 2009
"In the Windows: Trash, Sluts, Naked Ladies," Tacoma News Tribune,
25 March 2009
500 Handmade Books: A Celebration of
Contemporary Book Forms, Lark Books, 2008
There Is No Other Way to Speak,
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2005
Distance from the Sun: Thirty Poems from Thirty
Years, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2004
Anagram Press, Tacoma, WA
Proprietor, artist/designer/illustrator, 2004 - present
School of Visual Concepts, Seattle, WA
Letterpress printing instructor, 2009 – present
City of Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
Public artist (temporary site-responsive work), Prairie Line Trail, 2011
Public artist (etched glass), Link Light Rail station, 2011
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Letterpress printer/co-founder, Collins Press, 2008 – 2010
Words At Work, Minneapolis, MN
Graphic designer; in-house illustrator, 2004 – 2008
MN Center for Book Arts (MCBA), Minneapolis, MN
Faculty, 2007 – 2008
Liaison, Artists’ Co-op, 2006 – 2008
By Design instructor/artist mentor, 2005 – 2008
Letterpress printer, MCBA Winter Book, 2005
Illustrator, MCBA Winter Book, 2004
Zerr Berg Architects, Fargo, ND
Public artist (mural restoration), 2003
Custom Graphics, Inc., Fargo, ND
Production designer, 2003
[Blank] is the New Black, Chicago, IL
City of Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
Commencement Bay Maritime Fest, Tacoma, WA
Debra Austin Books, Pasadena, CA
Encore Media Group, Seattle, WA
Exit 133, Tacoma, WA
Igloo Letterpress, Worthington, OH
Irving House, Cambridge, MA
Kafé 421, Minneapolis, MN
King's Books, Tacoma, WA
Malibu Manouche, Tacoma, WA
Meta Books, Tacoma, WA
Minneapolis Farmer's Market, Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, St. Paul, MN
Motopony, Brooklyn, NY
Nurture Healing Center, Tacoma, WA
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
Saint Martin's University, Lacey, WA
San Francisco Center for the Book, San Francisco, CA
Seattle Center for Book Arts, Seattle, WA
Seven Stars Bakery, Providence, RI
Shelter Corporation, Minnetonka, MN
Stages Theatre Company, Hopkins, MN
Tacoma Community House, Tacoma, WA
Trollwood Performing Arts School, Fargo, ND
University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
MN Center for Book Arts Artist Book Library
MN Historical Society Special Collections, St. Paul, MN
Minneapolis Public Library Special Collections
RISD Artists’ Books Collection, Providence, RI
San Francisco Center for the Book Print Collection, San Francisco, CA
South Berwick Public Library, South Berwick, ME
School of the Art Institute of Chicago,
Joan Flasch Artist’s Book Collection, Chicago, IL
University of Denver Penrose Library Special Collections, Denver, CO
University of IA Center for the Book, Iowa City, IA
University of IA Libraries Special Collections, Iowa City, IA
University of Puget Sound Collins Memorial Library
Special Collections, Tacoma, WA
University of WA Book Arts Collection, Seattle, WA
Walker Art Center Library, Minneapolis, MN
Washington State Library, Olympia, WA
Spaceworks Tacoma, Tacoma, WA
Hillside Sketchbook, 2012 (upcoming)
Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, WA
Local Conditions, 2010
To the Letter, 2009
Charles Wright Academy Gallery, University Place, WA
Feminist Wiles (dual exhibition with Jessica Spring), 2010
Tempest Lounge, Tacoma, WA
Mnemonic Sampler, 2010
Pacific Lutheran University Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Mnemonic Sampler, 2009
Rosewood Café, Tacoma, WA
Flock, 2009
Tacoma Contemporary Woolworth Windows, Tacoma, WA
In Her Element, 2009
MN Center for Book Arts
The Faery Gardener, 2007
Pacific Lutheran University Gallery
National Print Exhibition, 2012
National Print Exhibition, 2009
Center for Arts and History, Lewis-Clark State College, Lewiston, ID
Bookworks, 2011
Tacoma Contemporary Woolworth Windows
King's Books Wayzgoose, 2009, 2010, 2011
BookWorks Gallery, Asheville, NC
Ladies of Letterpress, 2011
Books Kubrick Gallery, Fukuoka, Japan
Letterpress for Japan, 2011
MN Center for Book Arts
Parts of a Whole, 2011
Front, Back & Between, 2009
New Work: MCBA’s Artists’ Co-op, 2007
Bookish, 2005
Spot-On, 2005
Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA
Hand2Hand: The Book as Art, 2010
The Galleria, San Anselmo, CA
The Mother Hen Project, 2010
Burien Arts Gallery, Burien, WA
Page Turner: Contemporary Artist Books, 2010
Logical Diagram Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Make No Little Plans, 2009-2010
23 Sandy Gallery, Portland, OR
Broadsided!, 2009
Foss Waterway Seaport, Tacoma, WA
Maritime Fest Art Exhibition, 2009
Tacoma Contemporary Woolworth Windows
King's Books Wayzgoose, 2009, 2010, 2011
Tacoma Community College Gallery, Tacoma, WA
Feminist Art, 2009
Traveling Exhibition: The Sketchbook Project, 2009
Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
Museum of Contemporary Art, Washington, DC
Chris' Jazz Cafe, Philadelphia, PA
Laconia Gallery, Boston, MA
Antena Gallery, Chicago, IL
Soulard Art Market, St. Louis, MO
3rd Ward Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
Museum of Design, Atlanta, GA
Chicago Art Source Gallery, Chicago, IL
Collins Memorial Library, University of Puget Sound
Rock, Paper, Scissors, 2008
The Rourke Art Gallery & Museum, Moorhead, MN
49th Midwestern, 2008
48th Midwestern, 2007
47th Midwestern, 2006
46th Midwestern, 2005
45th Midwestern, 2004
44th Midwestern, 2003
Amorous Art, 2003
A Woman’s Perspective on Freedom, 2002
Chicago Center for Book & Paper Arts, Chicago, IL
Action/Interaction, 2007
Stevens Square Center for the Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Cultivate, 2007
Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, MN
Books Abound, 2005
Woods-Gerry Gallery, Providence, RI
Illustration, 2003
Palazzetto Cenci, Rome, Italy
Spring, 2002
I Libri dei Schizzi, 2001
