Printed works
on Paper
Making prints has always been fascinating for me
My mum made etching prints, lino prints and there was a contagious affection for the idea of being able to produce multiples and hand colour each one to make them different and appealing. Up until recently I had made prints from lino cut and processed them by hand with a baren or the back of a spoon to provide the pressure and gain the print. This was quite satisfying until I was lucky enough to attend a workshop locally (well, 120 kilometres away) where a printing group showed me the delight of a printing press. It seemed quite magical and I think I was one of the few there who squealed with delight at each print rolling out.
Fast forward to 2018 when my husband happened upon a floor printing press which I think had been living in an educational institution up to this time. He lovingly installed it in my studio and there it stood for quite a few years seemingly to question it’s very being and challenging me to learn more about printing. I embarked upon a few hap hazard prints and amusingly found that my relaxed methods of allowing the art to ‘evolve’ really didn’t sit well with printing. I made a lot of messy art and collage pieces for future works and generally found out how it all worked.
I joined Facebook printing groups, googled printing information, and made a lot of messy prints. Eventually discipline, technique, experience and resolve kicked in and I began to produce works that worked.
When my house burnt down in 2019 during the Australian bushfires that ravaged Northeast Victoria, I lost a collection of oil paintings of botanicals which had been painted with black canvas techniques. I realised that some of them would transpose well into hand coloured lino cut print, so I chose four to showcase in a series of limited editions.
These I’ve made available for purchase through Gallery outlets and my shop on this website. In the meantime, I’m continuing to learn more and more about printing and experimenting with different surfaces to print from, the most recent being tetrapak which is recycled packaging and fits well into my desire to maintain a sustainable arts practice. I still get excited when I see a fresh print roll out.
