GLORIA ANN SHOWS

Collaborations
Print Exchanges
Worldwide
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A print exchange is a collaborative project where a group of artists create a set of identical prints (an edition) to trade with all participating in the exchange. In the end, each participating artist will have a collection of prints centered on a theme, concept, or technique. I have participated in 23 exchanges to date-- Here is a selection of what I've made. You can learn more about select prints in my Projects Page.
Luray Caverns
Luray Caverns, Shenandoah Valley, Virginia
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I am one of four artists commissioned to create work inspired by Luray Caverns in the form of a woodcut. The two formations that struck me most vividly were Dream Lake, and the monumental stalactites that were still active and clinging to the cavern ceiling, indicated by the glimmer of moisture at the very tip. In the dimmer areas of the caverns, I saw these drops of moisture sparkle like stars, and I was awestruck by the sense of time made visible.
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Click the image on the far left to see a video about this project.
NMWA Nights Poster
National Museum of Women in the Arts
September 2025
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Passing Notes reimagines the act of exchanging words across time, distance, and community. Drawing on feminist lineages of zines, letters, and other forms of shared language, the project transforms the intimacy of a note into a collective gesture. Each carved block carries a phrase--fragments of resistance, care, and solidarity -- that echo the ways women and feminists have always kept each other going.
By selecting and printing these messages together, participants create posters that are both personal and part of a larger chorus. The resulting works act as notes passed hand to hand, reminders of connection and responsibility, and reflections of the communities that hold us up.
Choose Your Fighter!
HyBall 2025: Press Play Fundraiser
Pyramid Atlantic Art Center
May 2025
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Pyramid Atlantic Art Center’s annual nontraditional fundraiser, HyBall, is a quirky, immersive party that activates every studio area—Letterpress, Papermaking, Screenprinting, Bookbinding, and (my personal favorite) Printmaking. For the event, I designed a print-centered activity inspired by role-playing game character customization screens. Titled Choose Your Fighter, the activity invited attendees to mix and match heads, torsos, legs, arms, and accessories, then hand-print their selections into seemingly endless combinations.
With over 500 attendees at HyBall, an overwhelming majority came through the print studio to create their own characters, transforming the space into a lively hub of experimentation, play, and hands-on engagement with printmaking.
Derive Brewing Company
Prints & Pints
August 2024
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This poster explores how longstanding practices, whether in brewing, games, or other communal practices foster connection, joy, and a shared sense of play. I was interested in how traditions endure, adapting over time while retaining their power to bring people together. Classic games, even as they’ve been eclipsed by newer, more complex ones, still hold symbolic weight as reminders of collective enjoyment and imagination.
With this collaboration I set out to bridge past and future, imagining a world where artifacts of play persist and are continually reimagined. I leaned into being a little silly, pulling from board games I loved as a kid and reshaping them into something both familiar and alien.






































