Limited Confusion

As technology advances there is a challenge for printmakers to educate art viewers on what exactly we mean by a print and a limited edition...  now that anyone can easily create a print out on archival paper using a computer and fancy ink jet printer there are a lot of reproduced artworks out there sold as 'prints'.  But that is not the kind of print i make. To me a print requires some elbow grease... ink rolled out on a glass slab, transferred to a block, and pressed by hand onto paper.

Recently at an art event a fellow exhibitor asked me about my process and how many pieces i make in my editions...  because i print by hand and it takes time and incurs error i usually end up with 12 or fewer final images in my limited edition runs. (In fact my latest works are all intentionally unique and one of a kind, but that is another post yet to come).  Fellow exhibitor said his limited editions are 100 pieces.   I have heard of 1000 in an edition.  So what would you rather have for your investment? Something touched by hand that only a handful of people may share or something mass produced?  Not everyone cares about this, but i do.  So if i cant give you the image you want in a different size it isn't because i don't want to it is because that is not my process.  I am analog not digital.  And when you see me explaining passionately the glory of a hand touched piece you'll understand better the method of my madness.

it's the little things

as a kid in summer one of the most remarkable things to see for me was a praying mantis in the yard...  sure we had daddy long legs and fire flies but a mantis was a specialty, uncommon and exciting.  i guess i've never gotten over that as i've made many mantis inspired artworks as an adult, all without realizing any pattern. who knew i was repeating myself? apparently true inspiration maintains itself over decades. and who wouldn't be inspired by such magical things as a mantis?

on time and ideas

 

when i travel i take this small sketchbook and doodle on the plane while listening to music. it lets me get away from the tiny space and close proximity to strangers around me and lets me avoid small talk.... but it also makes me a little self-conscious.  like a student hiding answers on their exam i sometimes try to cover my little sketches, sheltering them from eyes and judgement. they're just scribbles not intended to be seen but serve as a place holder for inspiration to come back to.  and then maybe months later i revisit them and i think i should have let them be out there it is nothing to hide.  time and distance let me see them like someone in the next seat might see them and i am curious about who made them but i am still afraid to strike up a conversation with her. i wouldn't know what to say.  meanwhile the person in the next seat is asleep anyway.

heart art aka my precious

the nice thing about not having any current deadlines for shows is having time to experimenting with different media.  these wooden pieces hang from leather cords and measure approx 12x12 inches.  they have a thin wash of acrylic paint, then screen printed images, then enhanced details with sharpie markers and leather 'thread' stitched with holes drilled thru the wood...

so much of the creative process is playing with "what if" scenarios.  what if i do this, what if i use that color, or combine these images..."what if" is the essence of creating.  the lesson i learned most in pursuit of my BFA is that you have to be willing to take risks in the studio.  many artists especially young 'beginners' have a sense of preciousness about their work and a fear of 'messing up' something they like.  but that fear is what will hold you back from a real break through.  playing it safe isn't always the best thing and it is years of risking and fixing that help develop a mature artist and give you faith to trust your skills that if you do make a change you like less than a previous state you can fix it and work your way out of it.  (although this is easier to do with painting than printmaking i would dare to say you can even in printmaking problem solve to correct a bad creative choice.)

the other thing i have learned is to sleep on a project.  if you aren't sure about what to do next with a piece let it rest.  if you finished a piece and don't care for it, don't white wash it right away, give it time.  sometimes time alters your view of a thing and you'll grow to like it or see a new direction to take it in... and sometimes you realize you've outgrown it entirely.  but no matter what, the experience of having made a piece, even a failed piece, is of value.  similar to how you learn something of value from a broken heart.  it all helps shape your future work.