KEYWAY

This is a new solar plate etching and chine colle of a couple on their wedding day. It is inspired by a portrait I took digitally of them in the wine cellar bar area before making their reception debut. The picture was taken through the large gated door keyhole. The overall print is 14 x 9.5 and the etching itself is 4.5 x 3. I like the intimacy and the vintage quality of this print. It's something that you have to walk up to, and peer into to see what's going on. A small treasure of a moment.

BALANCE

This is another print that documents a specific occasion and moment(s) in time. In this case, it is a wedding celebration. It is an archival digital print on Hahnemuhle German Etching paper layered with two Solar Plate Etchings printed with bone black oil based ink. The color prints are photographs that were taken while driving over the bridge to St. Simon's Island in Georgia where the couple married. The Solar Plate Etching is inspired by photographic images of the couples first dance. The symbolism here is about the balance in a relationship : structure, support, and logic .vs. intuition, freedom and mystery.

Note: the two middle photographs are of the etched polymer plate.

HAYSTACK RESIDENCY

I was super fortunate to receive a work-study full scholarship to Haystack Mountain School of Craft (on Deer Isle, ME) to participate in a Surface Design Workshop led by Fraser Taylor of SAIC.  It was a wonderful experience to be surrounded by creative focused energy for 2 weeks without the distractions of everyday life.  Amazing meals were prepared, studios open 24 hours a day, mossy walking trails along the ocean, library resources, a staff of all artists of different disciplines, slide shows and presentations, 70 students from all over the world ... all making for a rich experience of creative growth.  I was definitely influenced by the natural surroundings when making my own work.  Above is a collage of some of the experiments I worked on during my stay.  The hand cut stencils that created the screenprint on muslin are reminiscent of barnacles, bones or sea life.  These were screenprinted individually in variations of white. The prints on paper are "x-rays" of the sea life shapes, created by the pigment residue left on the screen.  These prints were more spontaneous, not knowing what the output of the one swipe of the screen would be.  I also experimented with discharge printing on fabric, using found moss to use as a stamp while making the screen.  Since there was a press to be used in the Book Arts Studio, I printed a solar plate I made in NY, combining it with a process learned at Haystack called Dye Transfer, using sodium alginate to push the dyes through the screen.  The experience was all about exploration and discovery.  For more info about Haystack, visit www.haystack-mtn.org/

SARIS, JEWELS AND HANDS

This is a portrait I took at a wedding as the professional photographer was setting up a posed family shot.  I printed this on Metallic paper to enhance the saturated colors and touches of gold.

Tasmanian Print Exchange

I was invited by Artist/Professor Hilary Lorenz to participate in a print exchange between 11 New Yorkers and 11 residents of Tasmania.  We each had to make an edition of 22 prints, 5x7 format, any technique.  Above is my "Untitled" 3 color silkscreen edition.  I will in return receive 22 different prints from individual artists.

SEW

Experimenting with sewing through paper on a screenprint with needle and thread.

GESTURES OF LOVE

This print is a customized wedding gift.  It is a two color water-based silkscreen printed on 100% cotton paper.  The print is approximately 28x28 in diameter.  The project entailed photographing everyone's hand at the wedding as I asked each person to make their own gesture of love.  All of the hands were individually edited in photoshop, with varying detail, to create the graphics.  The hands overlapping each other in a circle symbolize unity and life itself. 

The lace-like translucent gold that slightly overlays the inner wreath was inspired by images I've seen of a microscopic orchid root, and was hand painted on mylar to create a film for the screen. The orchid historically symbolizing strength, transformation, love and beauty. 

This is my favorite customized project to date, and I hope to continue experimenting with different custom hand projects.

BETTY'S GOT A GUN

This is a four color silkscreen I did on 100% cotton Rives BFK paper.  It was inspired by a 4x6 b&w photograph taken in the 1940's of my girlfriend's grandma Betty.  The print is approximately 24x36.  This is the first print in a series I want to create of women who defied the socially constructed expectations of being, during which they were alive.