My relief carving, What Makes You Sparkle?, has been selected for a juried show in Long Beach – July 13 through August 10, 2024.

Early in January of 2023 my sister Jan and I visited the Huntington Library in San Marino, CA where “Gee’s Bend: Shared Legacy” was on display. The printmaking by the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama was exhibited along with one of the quilts produced within this community. It was a remarkable experience to see their prints which were produced at Paulson Fontaine Press.

This show prompted some research into the history and influences that gave birth to this deeply moving and engaging body of work. After several months of this research, I applied to the Artist in Residence program at Creative Arts Week at Camps Newfound Owatonna in Harrison, Maine and was accepted. My aim was to develop some ideas for teaching about the quilt makers and their work through printmaking projects involving fabric and paper.

In preparation for the residency I completed a quilt block from a kit provided by the African American Quilters of Los Angeles. The pattern is “Missippi” and these block kits are given out with the agreement that you will sew it and return to AAQLA so that they can turn it in to a quilt to give away. Let’s say, it was a learning experience! The members were so kind when I returned the completed block and I felt the sense of community that surely supports members of these groups wherever they might be located.

My friend Julie Arthur is a member of the Tacoma Modern Quilt Guild and she taught a workshop in block printing on fabric back in September 2023. I went to the event and assisted with some of the set up and technical support for the approximately 30 members who were printing that night. It was so inspiring to watch this group working with new materials and making wonderful discoveries. Visit their FaceBook page for images of their work.

Here’s a sample of my work with this technique using Speedball fabric block printing inks and SpeedyCarve blocks printed on well-worn sheet material with a very high thread count.

Los Angeles Printmaking Society’s Juried Exhibition at Center for the Arts, Eagle Rock, Los Angeles CA | April 1 – April 27, 2023 | Juror: John Greco, Artist, Master Printer, Owner Josephine Press.

Owatonna Pines / Purple & Pink | Relief Print 2023

Coming soon to the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art in Santa Barbara, CA the 5×5 auction opens on November 30, 2023. You can visit the museum’s website for bidding through December 15, 2023.

Here’s the print I contributed to the auction, “Long Lake/Cherry Island” – a block print with colored pencil overlay.

This is a block printed image embellished with watercolor. The relief prints were each individually painted and sent out to over 200 recipients. It was inspired by a view from the shore at Long Lake in Harrison, Maine.

Here is a version of the image using a multi-faceted eraser block and colored pencil. Love this process.

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