Carey Watters - University of Wisconsin Parkside

Carey Watters is a multidisciplinary artist, graphic designer, and Professor of Art at the University of Wisconsin–Parkside, where she serves as Director of Graphic Design and Faculty Director for Community-Based Learning. Her work bridges studio practice, design education, and community-engaged visual culture, with a focus on experiential learning and public-facing creative projects.
Watters’ artistic practice includes printmaking, book arts, collage, installation, and paper-based work inspired by architectural history, ancient iconography, and mythic narratives. Her research explores themes of mapping, cultural memory, and the symbolic visual systems through which stories and identities are preserved across time.
As a designer and educator, Watters has developed innovative curriculum and led large-scale collaborative initiatives that connect students with professional practice and community partnerships. Her work often extends beyond the classroom through public art and international collaborations, including projects in Italy, Sicily, and Turkey.
Watters has exhibited nationally and internationally and has received numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies supporting her creative scholarship. She is committed to fostering rigorous design thinking, strong craft, and meaningful cultural exchange through both her teaching and her artistic work.

Areas of Expertise

Graphic design
Book arts
Typography
Study abroad
Italian Art and Architecture

Teaching Interests

My professional experience in environmental graphic design allows me to bring a real-world perspective into the classroom, helping students connect design fundamentals to contemporary practice. As both a practicing designer and multidisciplinary artist, I approach teaching from a studio-based mindset that values concept, experimentation, and craft. I create an environment where students feel supported to take creative risks while also developing discipline, precision, and a dedication to thoughtful making.
My teaching style is relaxed and approachable, but grounded in high expectations for intentional design work. I emphasize clear visual communication and strong decision-making. Students leave my courses with a solid foundation in core principles such as hierarchy, balance, unity, spatial awareness, color relationships, and typographic clarity—concepts that remain essential across all areas of the design profession.
I place a strong emphasis on experiential learning and professional preparation. Through hands-on projects, iterative critique, and real-world design challenges, students build both technical skills and confidence in their creative voice. I encourage students to see design as a process of inquiry: researching, experimenting, refining, and learning how to communicate ideas with clarity and purpose.
My courses are structured to help students develop portfolio-ready work while also gaining the collaborative and problem-solving skills required in professional practice. Whether students are designing for print, digital platforms, or public-facing environments, they learn to approach creative work with intention, curiosity, and responsibility.
Ultimately, my goal is to prepare students to enter the professional world as skilled, thoughtful, and adaptable artists and designers who understand the power of visual communication to shape culture, community, and experience.

Research Interests

My research and creative activity bring together multidisciplinary art practice, graphic design, and community-engaged visual culture. As both an artist and designer, I am interested in how visual communication shapes meaning, memory, and place—through studio-based work as well as public-facing projects.
My artistic practice includes printmaking, book arts, collage, installation, and paper-based work. Much of my work draws from architectural history, ancient iconography, and mythic narratives, exploring themes of cultural inheritance, mapping, and the visual language of ornament, structure, and space. Recurring motifs often reference cartography and goddess imagery, reflecting my interest in how civilizations tell stories through symbols, materials, and built environments.
My recent creative scholarship has been shaped by international collaboration and research in the Mediterranean, particularly in Italy and Sicily. Time spent working in places such as Siracusa has deepened my engagement with the layers of history embedded in architecture, public space, and cultural tradition, and how these influences can inform contemporary art and design.
In parallel, my design research focuses on environmental and socially engaged graphic design, with an emphasis on experiential learning and collaborative community partnerships. Many of my projects involve students and local or international collaborators, including large-scale mural initiatives and other forms of public visual storytelling.
Across all of my work, I am committed to craft, interdisciplinary thinking, and creating meaningful connections between art, design, and community.

Consulting Interests

Carey Watters’ consulting and professional practice interests focus on environmental graphic design, visual identity systems, and design projects that connect communication to public space. With a background in both professional design practice and university-level teaching, she works with organizations and community partners to develop clear, well-crafted design solutions that support real-world needs.
Her areas of interest include wayfinding and signage systems, interpretive and experiential design, branding for arts and cultural organizations, and typography-driven design for the built environment. She is especially drawn to projects where design strengthens a sense of place, helps people navigate shared spaces, or communicates cultural and institutional stories in accessible ways.
Watters is also interested in collaborative models of practice that involve students, interdisciplinary teams, and local or international partners. Many of her applied projects extend beyond the classroom through community-based learning initiatives, public art collaborations, and international design exchanges.
She welcomes consulting opportunities with municipalities, nonprofits, educational institutions, and cultural organizations seeking design work that is practical, visually strong, and rooted in meaningful public engagement.

Research/Creative Awards

(2023) Ecco Echo Award of Excellence — Classical Roman Arts Foundation
Third Edition of the Ecco Echo Awards is dedicated to echoing, celebrating and reverberating Classical Roman arts. Its objective is recognition and appreciation of contemporary artists or researchers who work in the tradition of, are inspired by or reflect on the Classical Roman arts, techniques, and styles. The prize consists of 1,000.00 Euro. The awards go to the participant(s) that are more creative and technically vibrant while representing, reinterpreting and celebrating classical roman arts and techniques. Inspiration and reverberation are equally cherished values.
(2023) Excellence in Research and Creative Activity Award — University of Wisconsin-Parkside
(2022) Best in Show — Trout Museum of Art
Contemporary Exhibition of Wisconsin artists
(2022) Award of Excellence — Center for Visual Arts
Pulp: Wood, Paper, Print Center for Visual Arts Wausau, Wisconsin (juried exhibition, juror: Mark Brueggeman, acceptance rate not disclosed, May 6 – July 2, 2022) *Award of Excellence
(2015) Juried Show Award Winner — National Collage Society 2014 Annual Juried Exhibition
national juried exhibition, jurors: Cecily Cullen, Janice McDonald, Marilee Salvator, 400 works submitted, and 91 were selected, November 21, 2014 - January 24, 2015) *I was selected as one of seventeen juried award winners for this exhibit
(2015) Juried Show Merit Award Winner — Maryland Federation of Art, Circle Gallery
Maryland Federation of Art, Circle Gallery, Annapolis, Maryland (national juried exhibition, juror: Harriet W. Lesser, curator of Strathmore, Bethesda, Maryland, 200 artists submitted work, 40 artists were accepted, July 18 – August 8) *I was given an Award of Merit and Monetary prize for this exhibition.

Carey Watters, MFA

Areas of Expertise

Departmental Service