For the past two decades relief printmaking has been my primary medium. In that time I have traveled from Seattle to Italy and Japan learning both eastern and western relief printmaking techniques and traditions which I try to incorporate in all of my work. The physical process of carving a block, and the immediacy with which I can see the printed result, offers me a gratifying combination of anticipation and satisfaction, akin to magic.
In my work I reflect upon my personal but by no means unique experience of carrying out a traditional role in a modern world. The pieces produced are personal but not necessarily autobiographical. They reveal my eccentric observations of relationships, mothering, and family life.
My work has been exhibited throughout the northwest and is included in both public and private collections.
Relief Printmaking
A relief print is printed from ink applied to the raised portions of a matrix such as wood or linoleum. The portions of the matrix, or 'block', not intended to be inked and printed are cut away so that what remains stands out in relief. The block is then inked and a piece of paper is laid over it. The artist then either rubs the paper with their hand or a hard smooth object or runs the block and paper through a printing press. The image produced on the paper mirrors that on the block. A different block must be made for each color.
Hand-pulled prints
Each print in a hand-pulled edition must go through all the stages of the printing process one at a time. Each color you see in a finished print is a separate pass through the press. With this process the artist cannot merely 'run them off' as one does with a copy machine. Each hand-pulled print is a hand made product. Each is considered an original.
