Interview with Leila Hooper Zeitler of Aurafinearts

Biography


My professional background has been in the field of antiquities and fine arts. My professional background brought me tremendous satisfaction.

My artwork gives my a similar sense of gratification.

I am mesmerized by the bright spontaneous nature of light, atmosphere, patterns and textures created in our magnificent environment.

I create etchings from my original painted images featuring flowers, wildlife and landscapes. My images are infused with multiple layers of color using eco friendly modern printmaking materials and techniques.

I live in Cambridge, Ma. with my husband. We live in a small and lively city which is in close proximity to both the mountains and the sea which we both enjoy immensely.

Why do you like to print?

I love the spontaneous nature of printmaking.

I also enjoy exploring modern eco friendly materials and techniques. There is something very rewarding about learning to successfully use materials which are gentle to our planet and to ourselves.

What is your favorite print medium and why?


I am thrilled with modern printmaking materials and the success you can achieve with them once you have mastered their quirky characteristics.

I love the eco friendly inks which are made with soybean oil instead of toxic chemicals. I love being able to cure a solar etching plate with the natural light of the sun instead of acid. I adore using recycled, repurposed and found organic objects to create works of inspiration.

What a treat to have access to mediums that reflect our recognition to conserve and protect own natural environment.

How long have you been printing and how has your work evolved?

My first recollection of printing is when I was a child and I was teaching people to ink leaves and create intriguing patterns with them. A number of years later I am still encouraging people to experiment with this wonderful option in order to explore their own creativity. It’s an irony really.

In between, the need to experiment has allowed printmaking to be a true ally for me. Learning to recreate sketches, carving woodblocks and linoleum and learning how much passion I feel for the painterly monotype and gelatin printmaking have all played a significant role in the evolution of my artwork.

What Inspires You?

Sometimes, I feel like an explorer. I will get an idea and then I will pursue different methods I can use to interpret it.

Mostly, my inspiration is directly from our natural environment. It is so rich and abundant that I never lack new ideas and challenges.

Being engaged in my artwork keeps me very focused and gives me enormous sensitivity to our surrounding environment. Color, light, textures and patterns are all a part of what I may attention to. These sensitivities afford me a freedom in the way that I interpret and see the environment around me. And thus, the way that I interpret it in my work.

How do you promote your work?


Someone once said that you are either good at doing the artwork or good at promoting the artwork, but rarely are you good at both. I believe there is a lot of truth in that.

I stay connected to the various outlets of exposure.

I will enter several juried competitions this spring and summer. I will also be in several group and gallery shows. A small group of us have formed an environmental printmaking group and we are scheduled to promote several shows over the next year. I have two etsy shops featuring my work.

Are you working on any particular projects right now?

I am always at work on one project or another and manage to feel that there are not enough hours in the day.

To get back to something I am very passionate about, I am pursuing the field of promoting eco friendly printmaking materials and techniques. A small group of us recently formed and we have put together various proposals which will lead to exhibitions in the near future.

It’s a tremendous amount of work but it’s also something that can be very rewarding.

Tell us a random fact about yourself.


The first thing that comes to mind is related to the work we’ve been discussing.

Recently my husband and I have begun to produce videos which are a combination of my artwork and his musical accompaniment. We have worked on several now and they are highly effective and have been very well received.

We are in the process of producing another one which will feature a new batch of artwork I’ve been working on over the past 4-6 months, including new wildlife and botanical images. These will be accompanied by my husband’s music. He is a professional classical guitarist.

You can take a look at the one’s we have done. They are available on my website and on Youtube.

Check out Leila's Etsy Shop and Website

Niki Bañados

Links to Niki's Etsy site, website, and blog are at the bottom of this interview.
 
How did you get started in printmaking?

I did one printmaking subject at university, as an elective. Our class took on the role of custom printers, under the name Cicada Press. We got to edition the works of well known local artists – and this responsibility of course meant we had to get proficient, fast! Aside from editioning other people’s work, we also got to do a couple of our own images. I loved etching immediately because it is forgiving of (or should I say it complements) my messy, finicky drawing style, so when uni was over, I looked for a studio where I could continue doing it.

Describe where you work.

I do my printing at an open studio called Warringah Printmakers Studio. They support safe practices which means there is not a drop of acid to be found, and we etch with copper sulphate. It’s good to know I’m lowering my chances of developing diseases later in life because of the processes, but it’s also frustrating sometimes because it’s not as stable and predictable as acid. Still learning!

What's your favourite printmaking process?

Etching on zinc. There’s enough possibilities with it that I haven’t felt the need to experiment further… yet.

What's your creative process for any given print?

First the idea gets drawn in a notebook. This usually happens within 30 seconds because I’m terrified I’ll forget it. A few months later I’ll stumble across it again and if it still looks attractive, I will look up some images on google, or photograph my own, to use as a reference for drawing. I then draw straight onto the (hard grounded surface of the) plate.

What do you enjoy most about printmaking?

Others find the long etching process tiresome, but it’s what I like best. I like seeing the physical reaction of the acid bubbling the plate away, watching the plate get shiny as the ink is wiped off, and peeling the paper away from the plate.

What's your least favorite part of the process?

Peeling the paper away from the plate and realising how many mistakes you’ve made! Getting dry hands from constant washing is also annoying. The rest is fine. I even enjoy cleaning the plate off.

What are your inspirations?

Other etchers. They show me how much I still don’t know and how much I could possibly do if I spent more time at it. Also I like the MCA in Sydney, and all the little galleries in the side streets that line Oxford Street (also in Sydney). These don’t directly reflect in my work either in subject matter or style, but are useful as a reminder to me to keep making art.

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?

I’ve only just started! I will definitely be looking into some evolution, but only once I’ve gained enough level-up points.

How do you get past creative slumps?

By looking at what I know and working from that, even if it’s not immediately creative or exciting. It can be helpful to just have a starting point from which better things can emerge, especially because I tend to get ideas by working, rather than by sitting around moping.

How do you promote your work?

Etsy, facebook, flickr. At the moment I don’t have enough actual content, so I’m focusing my efforts on that. Later I’d like to have a stall in one or a few of Sydney’s many markets, and to promote my work via word of mouth through the people I know.

Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?

Everyone knows what sculpture and painting and photography is, but no one knows about printmaking! Why not!? Show your friends and family, take the time to describe some of the work that goes into it, and what makes it unique. Imagine a world where people no longer get printmakers mixed up with inkjet and laser printers.

Niki’s Etsy Shop
Niki’s Blog
Niki’s Web Site