About the Art.
Monotype.
My one-of-a-kind monotype prints are made from watercolor on Denril. After painting, I cut the Denril into strips and then realign or weave the strips into the final image before running it through an etching press. Each is printed on acid-free archival paper.
Monotype is a printmaking technique that generally yields only one good impression from each plate. It is unlike most printmaking techniques which allow for multiple original prints. Monotype images are made by drawing/painting on a smooth surface (plate) such as glass, plexiglass, metal or stone and then the image is transferred onto a sheet of absorbent paper through hand pressing or running through an etching press. I use Denril as my smooth plate,
Intaglio.
My limited series of signed and numbered Intaglio prints are made from etched copper, inked and pressed onto absorbent acid-free archival paper. Each print is an original, and no two prints are identical. I incorporate aquatint, chine-collé, a la poupée and viscosity techniques into my intaglio prints.
Intaglio (/ɪnˈtælioʊ/ in-TAL-ee-oh, Italian: [inˈtaʎʎo]) is the family of printing and printmaking techniques in which the image is incised into copper and then bathed in acid to ‘bite’ into the surface of copper to emphasize the etched lines. The incised line or sunken area holds the ink and then the inked plate is run through an etching press.
Screenprint.
My limited series of signed and numbered screenprints are original images printed through fine mesh screens onto acid-free archival paper.
Screenprinting is a stencil printmaking technique. There are various ways to create the stencil, but typically in fine art the high-contrast image is ‘burned’ onto a fine mesh screen using a photo emulsion process. The ink is then pushed through the unblocked portion of the mesh screen onto a surface below. Fine art screenprints are sometimes referred to as serigraphs to differentiate them from more industrialized screenprinting processes such as printing on t-shirts using an automated machine. Screenprinting is also known as silk screening, a nod to the past when screens were made using silk.
Mixed Media Collage.
My mixed media collages are born from our turbulent times and my visceral reaction to the confusing world in which we are living.
The global pandemic and our fight for social justice has sparked in me a new, very emotional appreciation for my heritage and a desire to learn more about my ancestors and understand who they were as multi-dimensional individuals.
Prior to this time of COVID, the stories I heard about them were just that, stories. Today I feel a deeper empathy and connection to them as people who learned, labored, loved and lost.
As I study old black & white photos, some dating back to the late 1800’s, I see more than just the single moment captured in time. I try to reweave their stories, that both fascinate and overwhelm me, while thinking about the fortitude with which they lived their lives, often in the face of enormous calamity.
My mixed media work is a way for me to honor my ancestors as complex and imperfect human beings. My one-of-a-kind pieces are inspired by the main photograph, the focal point of the canvas, and then layered with ephemera (hand-stitching, metal leaf, fabric printed with song and poetry lyrics, anecdotes, adages and smaller photographs), that helps tell a little more about their story.
I have now expanded my series to feature non-family members, as I re-think more public individuals who have made a meaningful impact on my life or on our global community.
I’m now taking commissions for custom mixed media collages that feature people in your life. For more information, click on Custom Mixed Media Collage on the top navigation bar.
Mixed Media Collage is a form of art that utilizes more than one medium and a variety of materials.