trading secrets:
artist Statement

Mc Garry Guild Gallery
St. John’s Ravenscourt
May-June 2005

Web sit link www.sjr.mb.ca

Trading Secrets an exhibition of prints selected

from several series of work. This exhibition

offered the viewer a glimpse of the experimental

and innovative printmaking processes that I

use in my work. The exhibition was used

as a resource in the interaction between

the artist and the students, through artist

lectures and printmaking demonstrations.

Printmaking is the transfer of an image

from one surface to another as single or multiple

editions. In my artistic practice I explore a variety

of less toxic innovative printmaking techniques in

the translation of my creative ideas into original

prints. In this exhibition the reduction relief and

alumni graph techniques were featured.

Reduction Relief

Reduction relief printmaking requires that areas on the block be cut away. Ink is they rolled on to the block and the marked image on the block is transferred to another surface. In the reduction relief printmaking technique this process is repeated on the original block for each colour.

Representative of the reduction relief printmaking technique in this exhibition are several large floor to ceiling works from the series Marked and the series Ailanthus.

In these works non-traditional printmaking material is used for both the block and the support surfaces. These non- traditional materials include Tyvek- home wrap and extruded polystyrene.

Alumni graph

The alumni graph is a collagraphic process. The plate is created through the use of heavy-duty aluminums foil, which is adhered to the surface of a dense board using acrylic gel medium. Textured material such as sand paper and lace can be sandwiched between the aluminums foil and the board. The aluminium foil surface can also be marked. Once the plate is dry it is inked intaglio, which means that the ink is rubbed into the lines and off the surface of the plate. Damp paper is laid on the surface of the plate and the plate and paper are run through a hand operated traditional etching press. Colour layers can be achieved in numerous ways. In the prints represented here the colour layers were achieved using the reduction relief technique or a mono printing technique with watercolour on acetate.