Printsy Team Update

Greetings, Printsy members!

I would like to update you with some changes to our membership policy, which can be found on our Printsy Team Page on Etsy.

1) You must have an active Etsy Shop that has some active listings available (excluding brief closures, e.g. holidays).

2) The majority of the items in your shop must be produced using original, hand-pulled, printmaking techniques (e.g. relief, intaglio, lithography, monotypes, silkscreen etc.), and not predominantly functional or apparel items.

* If your profile has no active listings or no shop set up, your membership application will be declined.
* If your shop has no or few original, hand-pulled prints, your membership application will be declined.
* If your shop has a majority of non-printmaking items, your membership application will be declined.
* If your shop has a majority of items that include printmaking but are not predominantly fine art (e.g. functional, apparel or household items), your membership application will be declined.

We also have a new welcome message posted on the Team Page under the "About This Team" section:

Printsy represents the printmaking artists of Etsy.com, working in the time honored techniques of intaglio, relief, screen printing, lithography and monotypes.

Thanks for applying to Printsy, and welcome!

Check out our blog (printsy.blogspot.com), our Flickr Group (www.flickr.com/groups/printsy/), and our Team Page www.etsy.com/teams/6126/printsy/).

Please remember to use the "Printsy" tag on your hand-pulled printmaking items so that we can find you when our curator searches for items to feature on our "Who's Printsy" blog posts. We appreciate if you link to Printsy, either our blog, or team page, and please try to make time to create treasuries which include, or blog about, other Printsy members' shops. The more you work towards promoting Printsy and Printsy members, the better we’ll all benefit from the exposure.

Someone will be in touch in due course about asking if you'd like to participate in an interview. If you are keen to participate (check out our current interviews on the blog), please contact one of the Team Leaders (see the members page) for further information. If you wish your shop to be featured on the blog, this is the best way to do so.

Thanks again, and please feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Printsy Team Leaders

I would like to welcome our newest team leaders:

srajab1
BlueSkyArtwork

and our newest blog contributors:

katieblairdesigns
pabili

I (ploverwing) will be stepping down as Team Captain and will no longer be participating as much in Printsy. I have enjoyed my three years of helping out with Printsy, but it's time for others to get a chance to participate.

Thanks!

Printsy Team Update

Greetings, Printsy members!

I would like to update you with some changes to our membership policy, which can be found on our Printsy Team Page on Etsy.

1) You must have an active Etsy Shop that has some active listings available (excluding brief closures, e.g. holidays).

2) The majority of the items in your shop must be produced using original, hand-pulled, printmaking techniques (e.g. relief, intaglio, lithography, monotypes, silkscreen etc.), and not predominantly functional or apparel items.

* If your profile has no active listings or no shop set up, your membership application will be declined.
* If your shop has no or few original, hand-pulled prints, your membership application will be declined.
* If your shop has a majority of non-printmaking items, your membership application will be declined.
* If your shop has a majority of items that include printmaking but are not predominantly fine art (e.g. functional, apparel or household items), your membership application will be declined.

We also have a new welcome message posted on the Team Page under the "About This Team" section:

Printsy represents the printmaking artists of Etsy.com, working in the time honored techniques of intaglio, relief, screen printing, lithography and monotypes.

Thanks for applying to Printsy, and welcome!

Check out our blog (printsy.blogspot.com), our Flickr Group (www.flickr.com/groups/printsy/), and our Team Page www.etsy.com/teams/6126/printsy/).

Please remember to use the "Printsy" tag on your hand-pulled printmaking items so that we can find you when our curator searches for items to feature on our "Who's Printsy" blog posts. We appreciate if you link to Printsy, either our blog, or team page, and please try to make time to create treasuries which include, or blog about, other Printsy members' shops. The more you work towards promoting Printsy and Printsy members, the better we’ll all benefit from the exposure.

Someone will be in touch in due course about asking if you'd like to participate in an interview. If you are keen to participate (check out our current interviews on the blog), please contact one of the Team Leaders (see the members page) for further information. If you wish your shop to be featured on the blog, this is the best way to do so.

Thanks again, and please feel free to let us know if you have any questions.

Printsy Team Leaders

I would like to welcome our newest team leaders:

srajab1
BlueSkyArtwork

and our newest blog contributors:

katieblairdesigns
pabili

I (ploverwing) will be stepping down as Team Captain and will no longer be participating as much in Printsy. I have enjoyed my three years of helping out with Printsy, but it's time for others to get a chance to participate.

Thanks!

Congrats to Amie and some changes

First - congratulations to Amie Roman, http://www.ploverwing.etsy.com our former Printsy Interview administrator. Amie had a beautiful baby girl recently. Well wishes to her family.

So that leaves everyone stuck with me, Diane Podolsky, http://www.anniepod.etsy.com as the new printsy interview administrator.   Any questions, please convo me.  Thanks!

Welcome to the Printsy "Behind the Scenes" Crew

I would like to introduce to you the new members of our Printsy admin team:

Frank Pappas - notoriousfcp on Etsy - our new Who's Printsy This Week coordinator & author
Diane Podolsky - AnniePod on Etsy - our new Printsy Interview coordinator & author
Viza Arlington - VIZArt on Etsy - our new membership approval admin

Thank you very much, Frank, Diane & Viza, for taking time from your schedules, and your own art making and art business, to volunteer to support the Printsy Team with these tasks. We really appreciate your efforts!!

Printsy Interview - Amy Josefczyk-Papa

Printsy Interview: Amy Josefczyk-Papa - pspress

Interviewed by: Emily Berezin - artbear

Etsy shop: http://pspress.etsy.com, formerly http://papastudios.etsy.com/

Blog: http://psletterpress.blogspot.com/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pspress/

Upcoming event: Kraftwork indie art market. Young Blood Gallery & Boutique, Atlanta, Georgia. September 4th, 7-10 PM.

Bio: I have been doing linocuts for about ten years, and only in the last three or so have I moved from hand burnished prints to working in letterpress. I have no formal art school training -- my degree is in computer science -- but I have always been interested in art, and after college continued with various classes outside of a degree program.

To start off, tell me about how you first began working with printmaking.

I took a class on screen printing at the School of Visual Arts in NYC because I was always interested in graphic design and poster art. After the class, I didn't have room to do it at home or studio access, and happened upon relief printing using linoleum blocks while I was browsing around an art supply store. I just tried it out and liked it immediately.

You mentioned that you started out hand printing your linoleum blocks, but now you use a Vandercook letterpress in conjunction with the carved blocks. Can you describe that process a little bit, and how your work may have changed when you transitioned to using a press?

My process starts out by sketching and refining an idea, sometimes on the computer. After I have the sketch made, I reverse it then use low tech carbon or sorel paper to transfer the design to my block. I carve the block or blocks using standard linoleum cutting tools you can get at any art store, then I test print and refine further. Once I am done, I mix inks then print using the Vandercook. Before I got the press, I was very hesitant to print very large or anything that required registration, because I never felt that I could get consistent results. The press has given me confidence to do larger works with more detailed registration of two and three color editions.

What is your favorite part of the process, or your favorite thing about printmaking generally?

Good question :) I like carving the blocks best, it is very meditative.

How about your least favorite?

I struggle with putting my ideas on paper, and that may be due to my lack of art school training. When I come up with an idea the hardest part is coming up with a sketch that matches what I am seeing in my head.

Who or what inspires you? Where do those ideas come from?

Advertising and design elements from the late fifties and sixties inspire me, as does the work of Hatch Show Print in Nashville. Poster art also inspires me; the book Art of Modern Rock: The Poster Explosion is a fantastic book to see what can be done. Also motel signs and fifties and sixties roadside architecture. I have a huge collection of motel sign photographs that I have taken when on road trips across the country, and the design elements of those continue to inspire me.

Tell me a little about your background in computer science. Does that influence your art? Do you see the two as working together in some way, or are they largely separate?

I think that computer science involves problem solving on a daily basis, and so does the act of printmaking. Letterpress requires constant problem solving when making prints, so those skills may overlap. Other than that, I think that my computer science background doesn't have a lot of influence. I like the fact that I can have a balance in life between my work, which relies on my computer science background and is very left brain, and my art, which is more right brain.

How do you schedule yourself in your art practice? How does it fit in alongside your day job?

I usually devote evenings after work to art. I try to have a nice dinner after work and then work on printmaking rather than sitting in front of the TV. I also spend a lot of time on the weekends with it.

Can you describe your work space?

My husband and I own a commercial building where we both have studio space. I have a press room where my press lives along with all my tools and supplies. It is good because now I don't have to worry about space issues and can keep my work area separate.

How do you promote your work and your business?

I blog, use Flickr, and do the Indie Craft Experience summer and winter craft events here in Atlanta. This is an area that I could spent more time on! I was also just accepted to be part of this month's Kraftwork, a revamped monthly craft night at the Youngblood Gallery, which is a local indie art gallery in Atlanta.

Do you have any advice for newcomers to printmaking?

Don't be afraid to experiment and try new things. I am trying to challenge myself more to this -- although there will be failures, you can learn so much more in the process.

Thanks so much, Amy!

Printsy Interview: Amanda Gordon Miller

Printsy Interview: Amanda Gordon Miller - edamame press
Interviewed by: Ele Willoughby - minouette
Amanda is a printmaker, who lives and works in Baltimore with her husband Christian and son Owen, where she teaches art at two community colleges.

Websites:
Homepage: amandagordonmiller.com
Blog: amandagordonmiller.blogspot.com
flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/23558636@N03
Etsy shop: edamamepress.etsy.com

Current and upcoming shows of your art work?
Current Show: Forest Through The Trees: Gelatin Monotypes by Amanda Gordon Miller.
Greenbelt Aquatic & Fitness Center. June 4-August 24, 2008

Upcoming Show: Special Projects.
Cade Fine Arts Gallery, Anne Arundel Community College. November 10-December 10, 2008

Why are you edamame press? Are you particularly fond of Japanese food?
When I chose my shop name, I knew I wanted to use something from nature. I chose Edamame, which are boiled soybeans and a popular Japanese snack. They are full of protein and antioxidants, and to me, they represent good health, which is important in all areas of my life, including the art I make. Some of the inks I use are soy-based, making edamame a perfect fit. And yes, I do love Japanese food!

Your profile says you have a background in traditional printmaking; how did you get started? What drew you to printmaking?
My major was painting, but my freshman drawing teacher recommended that I take a printmaking class, I think because she saw how I could just immerse myself in the process of making something. Intaglio was the first class I took. I loved the process of developing an image on the plate and seeing all the steps laid out in proofs. I also took lithography, monotype printmaking, a portfolio class where I did etchings, and I was TA for a printmaking class. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time in the printmaking studio. Somewhere along the way, I started getting sensitive to several of the printmaking materials, so I stopped taking printmaking classes and just continued to do monotypes on my own outside the studio. I eventually took up relief printing, too, which can easily be done without the chemicals used in some of the other printmaking processes.

I'm happy to read that you are committed to lower toxicity and water based inks (as am I). Tell me about the inks you use and how they have changed your artwork and process.
I use Akua Kolor inks for monotypes and Akua Intaglio for wood block prints. Prior to trying these inks, I experimented with other brands of water-soluble inks and was frustrated when they dried too quickly or had a plastic-like look and feel. With the Akua inks, I can keep my process non-toxic without sacrificing quality at all. The colors are very rich and also work well for transparent effects, the ink never dries while I'm printing, and most importantly, I can safely work in my home without exposing my family to harmful fumes.
Working with any new material involves some trial and error. I've learned that the process of experimentation—working with an idea in mind, but ultimately responding to the materials—is what truly makes printmaking a passion for me. My favorite part of the whole process is the moment when I pull up my paper after printing. I might see exactly what I had planned, but often there's a surprise prompts me to decide what to print next, or even shows potential for a new direction. It's exciting, and I try to work "in the moment" as much as possible when I'm printing. For this reason, I usually do one-of-a-kind prints or smallish editions.

I'm not familiar with gelatin prints. How did you get started working with this medium? What is it like?
I first tried this process a few years ago when I was living in a small apartment and needed something low-tech that I could do at home. I bought a book on the technique Making Monotypes Using a Gelatin Plate by Nancy Marcuewicz and I was hooked. I use unflavored gelatin (like jello) as a printing surface, apply ink, sometimes add handmade stencils, and print. The ink transfers with very little pressure (no press).
Gelatin monotypes can mimic more traditional forms of printmaking, but the material also has its own unique characteristics that make the process perfect for experimentation. When you combine gelatin, ink, and paper, there's a little natural suction. This is why the ink transfers so easily, but it also makes the ink move around a bit to create bubbles, areas of transparency, as well as fine outlines. To me, these surprises are part of the fun, and I love to find a way to make these interesting elements work in the print.

You currently have a show entitled 'Forest Through The Trees' featuring your gelatin monotypes of trees. Tell me what the forest means to you.
I feel a personal connection with the forest simply because I love to spend time outdoors, especially taking a walk (or when I'm in shape, a run) through the woods. It's incredibly relaxing, freeing for the mind, and really the only thing I do that comes close to meditation. Connecting this part of my life with my art is something that just feels right. Recently, I've been working on a series of prints with the theme "forest through the trees," layering a few tree shapes to create the look of a forest. This theme offers potential for endless variation. I am drawn to the formal elements—the interplay between organic shapes, the way the overlapping and transparency create pattern and new shapes—but also the symbolic meaning of the theme itself—considering how seemingly small, everyday choices affect the world.

Do you have access to the woods, living in Baltimore?
Not in my immediate surroundings, but the nearby counties have lots of parks, so I try to take advantage of them. My parents recently got us a great jog stroller from a garage sale, so I'm starting to incorporate more running into my routine.

Your blog mentions tricks for keeping you little son occupied when carving. How do achieve life/work balance?
My husband and I are both teachers. We work different schedules so most of the time, one of us is home with our son Owen. That means that we have some very busy times, but fortunately with a teaching schedule, there's always a break to look forward to. In that way, our schedules have built in balance. When we are home together, we give each other time to do our own thing, which is really important—that's when I get the most printing done!
As for keeping Owen occupied, at this point I can set him up with crayons or play-doh and work for a few minutes, but what really works the best is when I give him lots of attention early in the day when he has the most energy. We'll play outside or go on an outing. Then later, he'll take a good nap, and that's when I have a little chunk of time to work.

Does teaching influence your work?
Yes, it definitely does. Working with other creative people is really energizing. I teach at two community colleges, and my classes are art appreciation, drawing, two-dimensional design, and color. These are introductory classes, but my understanding of these subjects continues to deepen and I learn new things every semester. This can only help me as an artist. I'm on roster to teach a new printmaking class in the spring, and I can't wait! I also teach occasional printmaking workshops at local art centers, which is a lot of fun. I actually did my first print using handmade tree stencils as a demo for a gelatin monotype workshop. I loved the way it turned out, took the theme, and ran with it.

Do you have any advice to beginning printmakers?
Be open to surprises when you print, you never know where they'll take you. Also, be aware of what's in your materials, especially potential hazards, and be safe.
Thanks Amanda for the interview! Now I want to go investigate gelatin prints. :)

Printsy Interview - Iva O.

Interview by pspress

Name: Iva O.
Website: www.ivafineart.com
Etsy shop: ivaart.etsy.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/iva_o
Blog: ivaart.blogspot.com

Brief Bio:
I live in the Toronto area where I share my little apartment with a wonderful cat and a lot of art supplies. I don't have formal training in art and everything that I have learned is through observation and constant experimentation. During the day I work in corporate finance and at night I dive into paint and ink. It's a dual kind of life that keeps both sides of my brain working.

What printmaking medium do you most often work in?
Block printing -- both wood and linoleum.


How did you get started in printmaking?
Printmaking was a natural progression from painting. I was lucky enough to meet a lot of great artists online whose work inspired me to try and express myself through printmaking. Through a lot of experimentation and remembering bits of an art class in high school I taught myself the basics.

Describe where you work.
Until recently I used to work in a 1 metre by 1 metre space on my bedroom floor. Now I have graduated to my living room. One day I hope to have some space for a studio.


What's your creative process for any given print?
I usually start with something that inspires me, a photo of a place that I have visited or an image I would like to play with and sketch it out. I redraw the image to the size I want it, flip it (sometimes I forget to do that), transfer it to the block and start carving. I often have several blocks on the go, as once I start working on one the ideas start flowing for other images. After I finish carving the block, I print a test print, fix anything that needs fixing and print. I am very low tech as I use a wooden spoon to transfer the image from the block to paper. I usually print in several layers combining colors and blocks. Sometimes I have a finished image in my head and sometimes I just layer until I am happy with the print.

What do you enjoy most about printmaking?
Playing around with the ink. I am a messy artist, by the end of a printing session I am covered in ink!


What's your least favorite part of the process?
Getting the paper ready, I don't like cutting the paper because I can't cut or tear a straight line no matter what I do.

What are your inspirations?
My major inspiration is my life. The art I create is a reflection of my experiences and emotions. My prints (and the rest of my art work) represent my search for a calm and peaceful state of mind. I am inspired by other artists and the techniques they use. Nature is a constant inspiration, I am learning about photography and a lot of my blocks are based on photos I have taken.


How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
My work is constantly changing as I discover new ways of carving or printing. It's an ever changing process.

How do you get past creative slumps?
I am in the middle of one right now. The best thing I can do is to keep looking at art, trying to think about it and finding time to spend with my sketchbook. I think that I will have to lock the door, turn off my phone and computer and get the ink out and work for hours.


How do you promote your work?
My work is mostly for sale online right now. I promote through my blog, flickr groups, forums, displaying at shows and word of mouth.

Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?
Just start working and don't be afraid to get covered in ink ;)

Thanks for the wonderful interview Iva!

Printsy Interview - Shannon Buck

Name: Shannon Buck
Website: loadedhipspress.com
Blog: loadedhips.blogspot.com
Etsy: loadedhipspress.etsy.com

Brief Bio: I officially studied printmaking at Portland State University but most of what I currently do with letterpress is self-taught. I've been printing under the name Loaded Hips Press for about 6 years now. I'm also a painter and I make whirligig scupltures, small lady and cat pirates with kinetic arms.

What printmaking medium do you most often work in?

Linocuts and letterpress but I dream about working with aquatints and etching again some day.

How did you get started in printmaking?

In college. Suddenly my neurotic tendencies to want to follow a methodical process while still freaking out and making art made sense. I started with zinc etchings. I love being free to let go and let chemicals do their thing, I can pretend to be a magician. I learned how to use a letterpress from a workshop and then I sort of got hooked on it.

Describe where you work.

Most everything I do is in my studio, which is an extra room added on to our house. The previous owners of the house used the room for wood-working so it already had good artistic mojo. I do most of my printing on a community letterpress (the same press I learned from - a table top Chandler & Price clamshell platen press) located at the Independent Publishing Resource Center, a little nugget of goodness in Portland, Oregon. I have a letterpress in my studio, but, well, it's been my little problem child.

What's your creative process for any given print?

I sketch first but there's lots of room along the way for compromising and adjusting. For landscapes I work from my personal photographs. Currently I have a show up with my fellow printmaking buddy Carye Bye of Red Bat Press at the IPRC where you can see my process of sketches and blocks.

What do you enjoy most about printmaking?

There's nothing like rolling back the blankets and slowly peeling the paper off the plate after running it through the press, and finding this beautiful, luscious print.

What's your least favorite part of the process?

Printing is a zen state and if you're not in the zone you can really screw everything up. If I'm having a bad print day I have to just clean the ink off and walk away, go get some coffee and start again on a different day. But luckily that rarely happens.

What are your inspirations?

Sue Coe, Kathe Kollwitz, the Fauvists, the Symbolists, the Secessionists, old movie posters, postcards, and advertising - back when they used lithography and letterpress. I'm also in awe of all the old letterpress printers, still around to tell their stories. I recently had the opportunity to meet the printers of the American Amateur Press Association when they had their picnic in Eugene, Oregon. I got to see a linotype machine in action, it was truly amazing. It's a giant machine that melts lead and casts a slug as you type the letters on a keyboard. These guys really inspired me to continue printing.

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?

It's simplified a bit. I think more in terms of blocks and repeating forms. And, well, I'm 4 months pregnant (!) so I'm really excited to see how my work changes once this little person arrives.

How do you get past creative slumps?

That's the best time to get out old sketchbooks and revisit abandonded projects.

How do you promote your work?

Uh oh, I don't really. I need an agent.

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

I don't know that I'm experienced enough to say. Maybe in 50 years I will be. For now I would say fill the world with what you want to see.

Thanks for the interview, Shannon, and good luck with the new family member in a few months!

Printsy Interview - Justin Miller

Name: Justin Miller

Blog: boundstaffpress.blogspot.com
Etsy: boundstaffpress.etsy.com
ArtFire: boundstaffpress.artfire.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/boundstaffpress

Brief Bio
I am an artist and teacher living in southern Colorado with my wife and three children. I grew up not too far from here in KS and am the most comfortable when I can see for miles and miles in every direction. I love to travel in the mountains, and throw rocks into lakes and rivers with my kids. We try to hug and wrestle and play at every opportunity.

How did you get started in printmaking?
When I was young, my dad ran a printshop for which I had little interest. But in college, when I smelled the print studio, I new I was home. I loved the ink and solvents, the process of lithography and etching, and the way my drawings had a new life in ink.

Describe where you work.
My day job as an art teacher provides a studio space that is to die for. I usually carve blocks at my desk, and print either in my print studio office, or on my letterpress which has not yet found a home in my office.


What's your favourite printmaking process?
It is a tie. I love the smooth textures of stone lithography. In the absence of a litho press, I find that linoleum relief prints are my favorite medium to work in. I find that the graphic nature of relief work lends itself to my ideas.


What's your creative process for any given print? (eg. sketch first? Pre-planned or free-form?)
I develop what I call an artist's vocabulary. I have a certain number of images that I use regularly in different combinations. While I do sketch out these ideas over and over, I am always in search of a new way to arrange them, or a new image to add to my vocabulary. I hardly ever transfer a complete idea from my sketchbook to a block, instead I use my sketchbook to build idea momentum, then begin a new sketch on a block. When I have what I want, I re-draw the image in sharpie marker. I often let the image mellow on the block before I cut it.


What do you enjoy most about printmaking?
I love ink. Printing with ink. Ink in my fingernails. Ink smell, Ink cleanup.

What's your least favorite part of the process?
The last few cuts before I ink up.


What are your inspirations (other artists, people, places, events, etc.)?
Nothing gets me going like a good road trip across open countryside. I like discovering little visual gems in small towns or by the highway.

Artists that have influenced me: Goya, Jacques-Louis David, Birger Sandzen, Herschel Logan, Mic Jilg, Frank Nichols, Natalia Moroz, and many others.

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
I used to work almost exclusively with the human figure. In the last few years, I have begun working with birds as a metaphor for the human body, or spirit. I have really enjoyed the change, but still like to play with the figure from time to time.


How do you get past creative slumps?
My most successful method is to sketch every day at the same time. Sometimes drawing the same thing over and over, other times copying drawings to sharpen my skills.

How do you promote your work?
I use flickr, a blog, and a lot of word of mouth. I have found that participating in online groups and commenting on other's blogs can funnel a great number of people to my work. I display work at a local coffee shop, and in a nearby insurance office. My newest push is to participate in some national shows to expose my work to a wider audience.


Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?
Find an opportunity to pull a print in a class or at a local studio. You'll be hooked. Rich inky blacks are like a drug. Try it once, and you'll sell your possessions to get your own press.

Thanks for the great interview, Justin!

Printsy Interview - Jennifer Schmitt

Website: www.azuregrackle.com
Etsy: www.azuregrackle.etsy.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/photos/azuregrackle/

Brief Bio
Born and raised in Massachusetts with a few years' detour in Pennsylvania.

How did you get started in printmaking?
MLee of Etsy had a small workshop at her home, I went and was hooked.

Describe where you work.
I have a baby press (can handle blocks up to 10" x 14") and most of my supplies in the dining area of my apartment. But really my whole apartment is full of art supplies. I have the table that was our breakfast table as a kid and I use that as my work space once I clear off all the mail and books. Yes, it's a multi-use space.

What's your favourite printmaking process?
Hmmmm, I love learning new ones. On Etsy I am primarily a woodcut artist, but I am beginning to shift to solar plates and monoprints, mix in chine collé and mixed media details. I love that you can mix different printmaking techniques to spectacular effect.


What's your creative process for any given print? (eg. sketch first? Pre-planned or free-form?)
I work fairly free-form overall. I plan my blocks before I carve them, but the printing is more intuitive. When I work, I spread out half done prints from previous printing sessions. Then I stare at them all until I get an idea of what would be a good next layer or next color to add on. Some prints get all their layers in one day, some take months until I come up with the right combination. I have a stack of about 50 half done prints right now.

What do you enjoy most about printmaking?
The "ooooooo" moment when you pull the print from the block. You never know exactly what you'll get. It's like a little surprise every time.


I also love that there's so much to learn and try and play with. I'm addicted to beautiful papers too. Mmmmm, gampi.

What's your least favorite part of the process?
Clean-up. That and when the process calls for me to be very precise. I want to rush through the steps and it all becomes a big mess. I'm not patient that way.

What are your inspirations (other artists, people, places, events, etc.)?
Michael Mazur is a huge inspiration in terms of technique and talent. There are so many local artists I admire too - Liz Chalfin and Lousie Kohrman of Zea Mays Studios. Annie Bissett's ability to make political statements and stay true to her art.

For subject matter, I am inspired by nature, the poetry of Mary Oliver, colonial New England headstones (my town is covered with them and they are carved art pieces too), old family stories, women's traditional crafts being elevated and recognized as true art forms.

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
I continue to challenge myself and take classes. I started a figure drawing class because I want to be able to include people in my work and I didn't feel like I could draw the human form the way I wanted to. I compose images more thoughtfully, leaving less to luck, while at the same time I try not to think too much and kill the spontaneity of the process. I think the overall change has been in my confidence and desires to work bigger and with more different techniques.


How do you get past creative slumps?
Sometimes I work anyway. I keep posted on my wall the quote "Inspiration happens during work, not before it." Other times I sit back and let myself rest. I have to recharge sometimes and take time to see what new ideas bubble up.

How do you promote your work?
I use Etsy and my website and flickr. I have done a bunch of craft shows where I have a mailing list sign-up and then will send out postcards to past customers of where I'll be next.


Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?
Try whatever method speaks to you. It's so much fun!

Thanks for the interview, Jenn!

PS - for those of you who didn't know, Jennifer was the organizer extraordinaire of the amazing and incredible collaborative work, The Periodic Table Printmaking Project.

Printsy Interview - Jennifer Zalewski

Name - Jennifer Zalewski

Website: jenniferzalewski.com
Etsy: jenniferzalewski.etsy.com
Blog: trailhounds.blogspot.com
Flickr: flickr.com/photos/jen_zalew
(I’m on Facebook too, just search under Jennifer Zalewski).

Brief Bio
I guess in brief: I am an art and dog fiend, animal rights- and environmental- activist, recluse, and overall nerd. More than once I have been called a “feminazi” which I take as a compliment. :o) My two ex-racing greyhounds and I live in the Finger Lakes region of Central NY- close to wine country and Lake Ontario.

How did you get started in printmaking?
I took a Stone Lithography course in college (we also did a bit of linocutting) and I despised it. It was my most-hated art course throughout my four years of undergraduate work-the chemicals, the inking, those confounding huge, complicated presses- ick. I was a total grump about it. I do remember buying a block of linoleum while living in NYC after college- I wanted to carve an owl linocut for a Christmas card- but don’t remember what became of it. I think I started carving it and gave up because the linoleum was very hard (battleship) and I had some cheap Speedball tools.
Fast forward to 2005 or so, after settling back in Central NY, where I grew up… I randomly picked up another block of linoleum to experiment with…. and just kind of eased back into Printmaking that way. I did mostly one-color linocutting at first, but took a color woodcut class in November 2007 at The Ink Shop in Ithaca and have been doing reduction woodcuts ever since.

Describe where you work.
I bought my first home in 2004, and two rooms have been converted into art studios… The first room I renovated when I bought my house was the living room- it became my main art studio where I do all my sketching, carving, paper cutting, etc. I have a bureau that holds most of my art supplies, and some furniture/dog beds for Lucy and Clifford, who keep me company while I work.


When I bought my Dick Blick 906 press in January 2008, I converted my upstairs library room into a press room. This is now where I do all my printing and store my paper. It has a clothesline to dry my prints and a little bookshelf for my inks, brayers, vegetable oil (for clean-up), etc.

What's your favorite printmaking process?
Relief printmaking (woodcuts, linocuts). I’ve ordered some Pronto plates and Z*Acryl plates to try Polyester Plate Lithography, though… we’ll see how that goes! I’m excited for them to arrive.


What's your creative process for any given print? (eg. sketch first? Pre-planned or free-form?)
I always sketch first (usually on vellum), then transfer my drawing to a block by turning the sketch on its back and rubbing it with a pencil. I’m really finicky about my sketches though, and they usually take longer to do than the actual carving and printing parts of the process. If a sketch gives me the slightest doubt or bad juju, then I won’t use it.


What do you enjoy most about printmaking?
I love the surprise of pulling a piece of paper off a block and seeing how it came out, especially with reduction prints. That last color reduction, pulled off the block- it is really exciting! Of course, it can be very depressing too, if it doesn’t come out the way I’ve pictured in my head. And I love that I can use color with my woodcuts in a “limited” fashion- I am SO bad with my color palette- I used to get lectured about it in college all the time. With oils, oil pastel, gouche, colored pencil… I would go hog wild and have palettes of like, 20-100 colors. With reduction woodcuts, I can only have a few tubes of ink to use and a few reductions to use them in, so I need to be thoughtful.
What's your least favorite part of the process?
Does the “marketing” aspect count? I hate trimming the finished pieces, signing everything, the packaging, scanning it, putting it up on the internet, doing festivals… I wish someone else could do that for me! I also hate cutting paper. How in the world do you cut paper straight, especially if it is a Japanese or Nepali paper with deckled edges? I can’t figure this out for the life of me.

What are your inspirations (other artists, people, places, events, etc.)?
My dogs. Nature. The environment. These are my major inspirations.
My favorite artist is John James Audubon. I love the way he depicted his birds and animals- they have such life (even though he drew them from carcasses) and are so stylistic, despite being tightly-rendered fauna studies. They just blow my mind!

How has your work changed and evolved since you started?
Since starting with printmaking I have definitely “loosened up” a bit. I’m happy about that! I don’t like working tight and photo-realistically, but for some reason I naturally gravitate that way with non-printmaking media.
How do you get past creative slumps?
Good question…. I’m wallowing in one right now! I tend to become emotionally and mentally overwhelmed very easily when I have deadlines (for shows, “self-imposed deadlines,” art-related deadlines, non-art related deadlines, any sort of deadline, any sort of pressure) and go into rapid shut-down mode. I really need to get over this… it’s one of my weak points.

How do you promote your work?
Mostly through my blog and website. I do attend a few greyhound festivals where I sell my greyhound-related art, but it is very uncomfortable for me, even though everyone I’ve met has been so nice and supportive. I’d rather promote my art from behind a computer than “in-person,” out in public.. it’s so nerve-wracking. This is something else I need to get over, LOL.

Any other comments or advice for others who want to try making hand-pulled prints?
My best advice would be to take a class at a local print shop or join an online forum like Baren or the Printmaking section of Wetcanvas.com… you can learn so much from other printmakers! They are such valuable sources, whether you are new to printmaking or not. And buy the best tools, ink and paper you can… I really love Graphic Chemical oil-based inks and Flexcut tools, myself. If you start out with the cheap stuff, you’ll become frustrated fast.

Thank you for the opportunity to interview, Amie & Printsy!

Printsy Interview - Mariann Johansen-Ellis

Interview by janallsopp

Your door to all my online sites: www.artcanbefun.com
Both my etsy shops: www.mariannjohansenellis.etsy.com
and www.oneline.etsy.com
for original paintings and larger prints:
www.MariannJohansen-Ellis.com
my blog: mariann-johansen-ellis.blogspot.com
my Flickr photostream:
www.flickr.com/photos/mariannjohansen-ellis/

Hello all Printsy members... and all other visitors to the Printsy blog!

My name is Mariann Johansen-Ellis, I was born In Denmark, but have not lived there since I was a child. I call Southern Spain my home, although right now I share my time between Spain and Singapore, where both my husband and I work for the moment. We are almost finished though with our new house, including my HUGE studio, in the beautiful countryside just south of Granada... soon we will be back full time in Spain and I will start up printmaking courses (more about that at www.artcanbefun.com).

I am delighted to be a printmaker... although I have no formal education, (believe it or not, I started out as an estate agent!!) I have been lucky enough to have a great printmaker as a friend, Mary Eisman, who introduced me to etching. In my family, we have always been creative, but in a more craft oriented fashion, so my art career really started out by making all kinds of stuff in wood and then decorating it. I loved the whole carpentry bit, and I think this is why I find printmaking so fun. I really enjoy the preparation of plates, the whole “tool” process that comes before you get started so to speak, it’s like meditating, giving me space to think about ideas, images etc. I rarely, well, never actually work from anything but my imagination. Which is probably the reason it all looks a bit wonky. I just don’t seem to be able to concentrate on a model or a still life... my images are usually there as soon as I “look inwards” and the more I work, the more images there are. I do art to feel my best, but don’t have to feel my best to do art!

I tend to do mostly etchings; even though in Singapore, as a private person you are not allowed acid in your studio, I am fortunate to have a second studio in Spain. I also taught printmaking at Singapore Tyler Print Institute for a while and they very kindly let me use their acid room, with a huge bath!!

I have to say though, that lino is probably the printmaking form I feel is made for me. I love reduction printing, although there can be some, mild of course, swear words, over registration (if you have ever tried a lino reduction you will know I am lying through my teeth about the language) but it is still great fun, and a real challenge.

I have two printmaking movies on Youtube, one that explains and shows how an etching is made and printed, and one that shows a lino reduction being cut and printed. Just search under my name.

In Singapore I work in my studio at home, as we are renting a house, this really translates to the spare bedroom, which is fine, but at this stage in my career, quite limiting… so I am looking forward to my (first) purpose built studio that is included in our new house in Spain, not only is it huge. It also has the most amazing “air” or vibe. I just know that I am going to do great work there. And I look forward to teaching as well, I’ll run printmaking courses in both spring and autumn. I discovered teaching in Singapore, and found that it is so inspirational, just so much fun showing, sharing and seeing how different people use information and the same copperplate... amazing results come out!! There is also something about printmaking that is so great for first timers... it’s something to do with the finished look a print has, I am sure fellow printmakers know what I am talking about, and if you are not a printmaker, then do a course... it’ll change your life!

Although it is easy to be put off by the process of printmaking, it is no more difficult than brushes and oil paint for example. Where with brush and paint you see the result as it grows, printmaking is a different creature. It will lurk, peep, tease and “torture” until you finally pull that first print, it can be a triumph, or a slow moan... you just never know. It’s funny; the plate does not tell you the whole story until the print is on the paper!

Most of my etchings are done à la poupée: this means that I ink up all the colours on the plate, with big plates this means that inking can take a long time, and then I print the plate, repeating the inking for each print. Doing all the colours like that, also means that each print will have small differences from one to the next. I am not particularily concerned about the edition being as similar as possible, I often change colours of single things, or all of it if I feel like it. For me it adds to the ‘original’ in the original print, the knowledge that the artist had a direct hands on involvement in each image.

My editions are short, rarely over 40 prints. It just gets to boring for me as an artist to print too many prints of one plate, and as I am a prolific worker, there is no need either.

I get inspired by daily events, most of the time, small things, something I read in the newspaper, or hear about from friends, it can be difficult to trace inspirations, even for me. A lot of the time the image is just there in my head.

Almost all of my work is whimsical. I do try, quite consciously to be “funny”, that’s my contribution to a happier world. A lot of my work is considered to be for children, and although I sometimes do cater to that in the name of paying my bills, it is not a conscious choice most of the time. I actually started out entertaining my little sister; most images are in ways done for her, for us to have a giggle at!

I have started something new very recently though, and show it on my Oneline Etsy shop, the prints there are somewhat more serious in content, more adult. I am not sure where it is heading yet… it’ll go where it goes, I am enjoying though, doing something new.

My way of getting over slumps though, is really called self discipline. Can’t think of anything to do? There is always printing to be done. I enjoy quite a successful career as an artist and work with several shops and a gallery in Singapore, and have recently added a gallery in Brisbane to my list and they are always asking for MORE. There is simply not much opportunity for me to have a slump!

I don’t feel very precious about being an artist. I am just deeply grateful that I can wake up every morning and go to my studio and work, as there is nothing I would rather do. I always thought that a good way to promote yourself is to take what you do seriously, even though it can be hard to make a living as an artist, get out there. My recipe for being an artist full time: a big cup of reasonable price, a large dollop of common sense, as in, could I maybe make something that more people would want, and a good spoonful of being open to new opportunities. I found for example that illustrating some children’s books opened my work up to a whole new group of people.

If I have one piece of advice for anyone thinking about venturing into printmaking... buying my etching press was not only the most sound investment I ever made in my artist career, it also opened up whole new ways of doing art for me.