Last weekend was the Jamaica Plain Open Studios. An annual event organized by the Jamaica Plain Arts Council, dozens of local artists gathered to show, discuss, and sell their work.  When I started as an intern at 13FOREST a few weeks ago, I was aware that the gallery is part of a larger art scene and on Sunday I got to see firsthand what that entails.  As we planned our visit to Open Studios, we had two objectives: to catch up with artists already showing at the gallery and potentially, to find new artists for 13FOREST.

The first was fairly straightforward. Caroline Golden was showing at the Brewery. Her stall, with its antiqued wooden shelves perfectly complimented her vintage bakelite earrings and sterling silver charm necklaces.  We also saw Stephanie Mason, whose fish prints stood out as something disarmingly unique.  Utilizing a traditional technique employed by Japanese fishermen called gyotaku, Stephanie prints the ‘specimens’ that she keeps in her freezer.  That is to say, she actually takes the fish, applies watercolor to its scales and presses it to paper.   In her basement studio, printmaker Ellen Shattuck Pierce showed us some new ideas she was developing, including some interesting takes on wallpaper.  Other artists discussed their latest work with us and made plans to bring some new work to 13FOREST.

Time and Space Multiplied, sterling silver and bakelite necklace, Caroline Golden

 

Octopus, gyotaku fish rubbing and watercolor on paper, Stephanie Mason

The second aim, to find new artists, was more complicated. Every gallery maintains a particular aesthetic. It was interesting to evaluate art from a more objective point of view. Regardless of my own tastes in art, I had to take a step back and think about how certain works might appeal to the gallery’s customers. We found a few artists who we all thought would be great additions and I am personally looking forward to seeing their arrivals at 13FOREST.

The Bourgeoisie Gone Awry #2, collaged linoleum print, Ellen Shattuck Pierce

Among these new finds is Vincent Frano, a young illustrator whose works are teeming with references to Old World fairytales.  Perfect timing for autumn, as his first works at 13FOREST will be on display for Capitol Square’s second annual Day of the Dead Fiesta along with the works of Marc Cote, Steve Mardo and Joe Keinberger on November 2.

From the Forest, ink on paper, Vincent Frano

artist talk

Strata comes down tomorrow! For one last tribute to the printmakers, here are some pictures from the Third Thursday artist talk on May 20.


Here's Ellen Shattuck Pierce speaking about her linoleum prints. She exhibited two series in the show, her "puzzle" series along with the "kitchen follies" series. While the kitchen follies cheekily depicts violence in the kitchen, the puzzle series is a more subtle contemplation on collage.

Susan Jaworski-Stranc brought visual aids to describe her process of reduction linoleum printing:
Each sheet shows a step in the reductive process as the colors and image complexity accrue.

And here she is explaining it as Ellen Shattuck Pierce and Marc Cote, fellow Strata exhibitors, and Marco Athie, another 13FOREST artist, listen attentively.

Thanks to all who spoke and listened.

Printmaking processes

Since we opened Strata, a show featuring four printmakers using four different printmaking methods, we've gotten a lot of questions as to the different processes the artists use. So here we go, a brief introduction to the printmaking processes featured in Strata:

Linoleum printmaking - surprise! - starts out with a sheet of linoleum. The artist draws or transfers an image onto the sheet, and then uses a carving tool to scoop away the negative space in the image. That leaves a surface resembling a stamp, with a raised image. Then the artist applies ink to the raised surface of the block using a brayer (hand roller). The inked linoleum is then pressed on to a sheet of paper through a press or by hand with a rolling pin - or anything else that gets the job done.

To create multiple layers of color and add detail to an image, one can create multiple linoleum sheets to press onto the paper in a specific order according to color and shape.

above: Cold Shoulder, Ellen Shattuck Pierce, linoleum print, 24" x 30"

This is the method that Ellen Shattuck Pierce uses. In her "puzzle series," she creates different linoleum puzzle pieces that she'll combine onto one sheet, and then print.

Reduction linoleum printing - Susan Jaworski-Stranc's technique - uses just one sheet of linoleum to create all the different layers. This is also referred to as "suicide printing" because with each layer, you carve more of the block away - so once a layer has been printed and you start carving for the next layer, there's no going back.

above: Coastal Forces at Sunset, Susan Jaworski-Stranc, reduction linoleum print, 9" x 12"

Anne Silber creates serigraphs - a process also known as silkscreening or screen printing. You apply ink on top of a mesh screen and use a squeegee/hand-roller to press the ink through the mesh onto the paper. To define the image, you create a stencil that is placed on top of the mesh, so that the ink only marks the page in the negative space of the stencil. Once the ink dries, you create more stencils to make multiple layers of color and add complexity to the image.

above: Ha Long Bay, Vietnam, Anne Silber, serigraph, 18" x 21½"

Marc Cote's pieces are woodcuts, which is the same process as linoleum printing, except with a block of wood. Two of Cote's prints in Strata are monotypes, meaning that he only made one print of each image. The other prints in the show are limited editions - the artists made a set of each image, and each individual print is labeled within the set, say "1/25" or "7/50". This helps keep the price down (compared to one-offs) as the artist's time and labor is distributed amongst the set.

above: Colossus, Marc Cote, woodcut, 11 1/4" x 14 1/2"