We start with a drawing
My printmaking designs usually start off with a drawing. For this body of work, taking inspiration from nature came naturally as I wanted to illustrate growth—the continuous growth we see when we show up and nurture something. I began drawing the plants that surrounded me in my home because they had been with me throughout my personal growth as much as I had been with them throughout theirs.
Next comes the carving
Once the drawing is completely finished, I separate each element in order to prepare each layer of the print. I do this by deciding how many colors will be present in the final print, one color means one layer. In this case, we have three colors, meaning three layers. I separate each by color and then transfer each separate design onto their linoleum plate for carving out the linoleum stamps. For this series I decided to make a
3-layered print but decided that the third layer would be collaged on instead of printed.
Then I begin with carving away of all the negative space in the plate. This is a slow but beautiful process. Though repetitive, you have to stay focused on how you are carving, which makes it a very meditative process.
Throughout my process of carving a linoleum plate, there tends to be a lot of trial and re working until I am fully happy with the plate’s results. This means testing out the plate and re-carving any details that might not feel right to me. Once I am happy with the printing of each plate, comes one of my favorite parts in any creative process: playing with paint & choosing the colors.
For this series, I initially only wanted to work with one color scheme, but was experiencing so much joy in the process that I ended up creating four different colored print sets, it felt selfish to only go ahead and choose one!
Printing & printing & printing
Printmaking is known as the technique of the multiple. This means we can print multiple pieces using the same plate. When we hand print, things don’t always go as we wish— layers might not line up right, pressure might be off, smudges from our handling could occur, amongst so many other variables! Because of this, not every print becomes a final piece. I spent weeks printing these pieces, and in the final run, decided to only offer sixteen pieces (four of each color scheme) to you!
Up next— Collaging!
I wanted these pieces to be multi-layered, just like we are. In order to bring in more depth I decided to collage the final layer of each piece using different colored Japanese paper. Each piece is hand cut and then delicately placed on each printed piece.
Cutting out each affirmation
I decided to cut the affirmation mantras out from each piece because I wanted to be able to layer a reflective background behind each piece.
Each affirmation comes from a place where I have struggled throughout the past year. I started working on this series on October 2020, and almost a year later I have built a collection of phrases that empowers me and helps me fight those negative narratives when they sometimes pop in my head. I hope these pieces help you as much as they have helped me.
& finally— assembling + framing
It was important to me that pieces act as a reminder of your power, your importance, and your beauty and adding a mirror to help you see yourself directly in each mantra was a sweet way to remind you of just that. These pieces are strong, but what really makes them strong is you.
Because of the mirror aspect in these pieces, framing was extremely important. It took me a while to find the perfect frames, but these natural oak frames are truly just wonderful, and best of all, they are locally made, right here in la France!
They are simple, elegant, soft, and honestly just perfect. I cannot wait for you to hold one in your own hands.
