She Oak: Women as Seeds of Change

INSPIRATION

Last fall I received a call to Ohio women printmakers to submit a print that celebrated women and women’s suffrage.  The Phoenix Rising Printmaking Cooperative in Columbus was putting on a show entitled, "Ohio Printmakers: Celebrate Women" to honor the centennial of the 19th amendment.  I knew I had to challenge myself to work that theme into my interest in printing botanical art.  I was letting the idea percolate when I came across an image of a Latina activist next to the following quote:

“They tried to bury us.  They didn’t know we were seeds.”  — Mexican Proverb

I loved the quote and it planted the idea in my head that women are "seeds" of change.  Plus, it helped make the connection between women and my interest in botanical art.  I had recently completed another linocut of a giant sweetgum ball where the individual arms of the body looked almost human.  So I thought the perfect way to combine the idea of women as seeds of change would be to create a seed pod where each nub was a woman.

As I began an internet search for the perfectly shaped pod I narrowed it down to two or three and finally decided on one that had perfectly shaped nubs that I could transform into women.  When I looked at the name of the pod I saw that it was from a tree native to Australia from the genus Allocasuarina.  And I couldn’t believe it when I saw the common name was “She Oak”!  I took that amazing coincidence as a sign I had to do the print, and after two months of meticulous carving I printed “She Oak: Women as Seed of Change.”

Image source: National Arboretum Canberra

SKETCH

I begin every print with a pencil sketch.  I make the drawing full-size so I can simply turn the sketch over and burnish it to transfer it to the plate. (If you want to see that process click here).

“I have great faith in a seed.

Convince me that you have a seed there,

and I am prepared to expect wonders.”

— Henry David Thoreau

CARVING

My favorite part of the printmaking process is the carving.  I love listening to a podcast or music and losing myself in the work for hours at a time.

I began carving this print when the coronavirus started and it was so helpful to get my mind off of things.  Below is a 60-second video that shows me carving Oprah's hair.

I always like to photograph the plate before it is printed.  I love the soft, neutral palette and how the texture is only defined by subtle shadows.

If you only watch one video in this post, watch the video below.  I really liked how the music and photos fit together and spent A TON of time fussing with it.

When we see someone gardening alone, we do not know what private rituals she may be performing.  Who knows, in the humble gestures of weeding and planting, pruning and raking, what vows are being made or what insights disclosed?  Who knows what transforming power is perhaps being called forth in the gardener as she connects with the earth and with the longings of her heart? —Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Holy Hunger 

PRINTING

I am always nervous the day of printing and this time was no different.  I usually spend the day before printing tearing paper to size and setting up my Ternes-Burton registration clips.  I try to think of everything ahead of time so that the day of printing I only have to think about printing.

Below you can see the plate inked and my incredibly helpful and supportive husband hand-burnishing the paper on the plate.

I just learned the term "peel and reveal".  Apparently it is a hashtag used by printmakers for videos where they pull the paper off the plate to reveal the print.  Below is my 30-second "peel and reveal" video.

The evening after printing I went down to the studio to look at the prints and noticed a few things I wished I'd done differently.  At first it was just a few things, but then I really started to look and decided all the lines were too thick.  I tried to ignore those thoughts and slept on it.  Slowly but surely I came to the realization that I needed to spend some time thinning ALL the lines and re-print.  I purposely did an ink-pad test with the plate before printing, but there is no substitution for pulling a test print with real ink.  In this case the viscous ink made everything a hair thicker than my tests.  Sometimes I feel I will never learn this lesson.  But there is such clean-up involved in printing just one print so I don't like to do it.  However, I also don't like having to re-do everything.  Live and learn.

“A seed neither fears light nor darkness, but uses both to grow.”

― Matshona Dhliwayo

FINAL PRINT

Below you can see the final black and white print next to the color version.  I hand-tinted the print with watercolor.

One of my favorite women in the print is the voter below.  I wanted her to be central to the piece as the show is celebrating the 100th anniversary of women's right to vote.

When I was making this print I decided to mix examples of famous and non-famous women.  I will name a few, but I am purposefully going to leave most of them unnamed because I want the viewer to be open to seeing women they know.  In the photo below I depicted three famous change-makers...Amelia Earhart, Vandana Shiva, and Rachel Carson.

I also purposefully wanted the central woman to be pointing out at the viewer in awe.  Because the reality is that each and every one of us is responsible for making change in this world.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”

― Mahatma Gandhi

The image below shows my niece "Loretta", Sojourner Truth, and Malala Yousafzai.  I wanted to include Loretta in the piece because she is an amazing young woman who has chosen a sport that is dominated by men.  Her courage is an inspiration to me and to all young women to follow their passion.

The image below shows our cat-sitter Jenny, a suffragette, and Billie Holiday.  I wanted to include Jenny in this print because she is an incredible person.  She not only loves our cats as much as we do, but she is a tireless advocate for cats.  If she is not trapping and neutering cats, then she is running fundraisers, not to mention taking care of other people's pets plus her own (on top of keeping a full-time job).  Her compassion and love is unbounded and has changed the lives of countless beings...both human and feline.

Below are images of Wangari Maathai, Roxanne Swentzell, and Greta Thunberg.  Roxanne Swentzell is an AMAZING sculptor, activist, and seed-saver.  Two years ago I was incredibly lucky to take a sculpture class with her.  Both Roxanne and the clay taught me how there is a power in soft things.  I thought I was there to learn about clay but the class was transformative on many levels (you can read more  here.)

As I was researching various women to include in the print I learned so much.  At times I was brought to tears at the bravery, skill, and love of these women and how their actions changed the world.  After reading many of their stories I felt so inspired to contribute to making this world a better place to live.

It is my opinion that each of us are brought into this world with a special gift or talent and it is our job to find out what that is and follow it to the best of our ability.  That means NOT following what others want us to do, but having the courage to listen to the pull and yearnings of our hearts.  We have to ask ourselves, "What is my passion?  How can I bring beauty, love, justice, compassion to this world?  What are my talents and what makes me come alive?"  It involves finding out who you are and being you to the fullest extent possible.  I have been thinking about this topic a lot lately and came to the realization that "You can't fail at being You".

I like to imagine this Earth as a giant seed pod where women (and men) all over the world stand up and seed change wherever they are planted.  If we tend our seeds with our attention and lovingly water them every day our roots will grow deep and strong and we will rise up.  If we all tended our seeds, what was once a lifeless desert may become a lush forest.  What wonders will you grow in your own backyard?

"In these times it's not enough to awaken ourselves, to find our community: the world is in need of restoration, and each one of us is challenged to do the work of collective change.  The day of the Heroic quest is over, with its all-conquering, dragon-slaying Hero saving the world, one sword-stroke at a time.  The Journey we need now is not a journey of active, world-beating individualism, it is a journey of collective re-enchantment -- a re-animation of the Earth.  It's time to become native to our places again.  It's time for women to shrug off the yoke of the patriarchy, and reclaim our native power.  The power that is the Earth itself speaking; the authority of the Voices which came out of the Wells.  If there is to be change, it will come from us.  Right here, where we stand.  Women were always the story-givers, the memory keepers, the dreamers.  Listen now to the land's long dreaming.  Do you see what it's dreaming?  It's dreaming you."  —Sharon Blackie, If Women Rose Rooted

"Think about your favorite song, your favorite work of art, your favorite piece of clothing. Think about the device you are reading this from and the chair you are sitting on. Someone, somewhere, at some time had a crazy idea. It was scary to tell others about it. It was scary to make that idea materialize and then to put it out into the world for others to see, use, enjoy -- and judge. What if the person who wrote your favorite song stayed too afraid to share it? What if your favorite work of art stayed under the artist's bed and was never seen by another pair of eyes aside from her own? YOU have a message. YOU have a mission. YOU have a purpose -- one that is unique to you and will never be able to be duplicated by another human being, ever.

In the beautiful words of the Honorable Charles D. Gill: 'There are many wonderful things that will never be done if YOU do not do them.' The world needs you and your beautiful heart. Be brave -- share those parts of yourself."  — Melody Ross, Brave Girls Club

If you are interested in purchasing this print, please visit NessyPress.com.

St. Francis Auditorium Sketch

One of my favorite places to visit is Santa Fe, New Mexico.  In December George and I took a short trip to visit dear friends who live there and I can never get enough.  I find it so much fun walking the shops of downtown looking for Christmas gifts, admiring the architecture, and visiting the museums.  I kept wanting to sketch each day but there was too much to fit in!  Finally, on the last day I was all shopped out, had seen the sights and my usual favorite spots, so George and I decided to see if we could sit in the auditorium of the New Mexico Art Museum.

After running around all day it was a relief to find St. Francis auditorium completely empty and to sit still for a bit.  The silence was lovely and we settled in the front corner near the stage.  As you can see below the architecture is AMAZING!!!  I love the beautiful carved vigas (beams) that support the ceiling.

The detail on both the beams and the support columns is so charming.  I like the rustic nature and patterns created simply by using a few shapes and colors.

“What catches your attention can change day to day.
But what catches your attention day after day is what you should pay attention to.”
― Khang Kijarro Nguyen

Below is the view from where I sat to sketch.  I was able to sit on the stage in the corner and drew for about an hour before we had to go.

After sketching I stepped out the side door that leads to a sculpture garden.  When I looked back at the building I noticed the ends of the sun-worn vigas sticking out at the top.  The repetition of the beams and the stark contrast between the adobe and the sky were stunning.  I never knew I loved adobe buildings until I visited Santa Fe.  The soft curves of the corners, the exposed, weathered beams and attention to detail makes my heart sing and feels like love.  Even the word "adobe" seems adorable to me.

As I enter the new year I don't normally make traditional resolutions.  But I do know that each year I am more conscious of noticing what makes me happy.  What catches my eye?  What do I find achingly beautiful?  When I notice these things my path becomes clear.  I may not know where the path is leading but all I have to do is take one step towards what I love. Then I keep looking and the next step always appears.

"If you are not in awe, then you are not paying attention." - Unknown

"Flores" Holiday Linocut Print

My love of flowers and folk patterns inspired this year's holiday linocut print.  I was also excited to try printing metallic gold on a dark background.  Below you can see my sketch (flipped) and the final carving.

The carving took me a couple hours. It is so relaxing to put on a podcast or music and work on it.  I like to think the good energy of what I'm listening to works its way into the print.

This year I was determined to print early and not to overdue it.  I ended up printing almost 150 prints over 5 different days...all before Thanksgiving!  After they were dry I spread them all out on the basement table and had a photoshoot.

George and I were also inspired to include a short poem about 2019 with each print.

I was thinking about why I make these prints every December. . .  and the point to me is to spread a little joy.  I wish I could send a handmade print to everyone!  Although my back may not allow that, I can wish everyone who is reading this blog a very Happy Holiday and great joy in the coming year.  Peace to You.

"The heart blooms in silence."
— Dhammadasa

Cat and Mouse Linocut Print

This fall I participated in an exhibition called "Think Square" that showcased the work of local artists working in ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing, printmaking, photography, fiber and glass.  Each piece had one main requirement: it had to be 5'' wide by 5'' tall.

I chose our cat Bubo as my subject because IMHO all printmakers should print their cats and Bubo is incredibly cute.  This blurry little image from a video was my inspiration.

In the following video you can see me pull a test print of the "Cat and Mouse."

Below you can see the final prints drying.  Each print is 5 3/4'' wide by 7'' tall and there are 31 prints in the edition.  The actual size of the printed area is approximately 5'' x 5''.

The show was curated by Andrea Knarr who was a printmaking professor at NKU for many years.  I met her recently when I took her framing class at Tiger Lily Press.  A big thank you to her for putting together a great show.

The night of the opening was really fun.  All the pieces in the show were framed the same so the show looked really cohesive.  The show is up until Nov. 22 so there is still time to go see it.  The artwork was really fantastic and most pieces sold the opening night, including mine!

Between working on the giant sweetgum and this print I can see there are some advantages of working smaller.  In the coming year I hope to experiment with printing some small to medium-sized prints.

If you are interested in purchasing the "Cat and Mouse" visit my website NessyPress.com.   

“I believe in love. And beauty. I believe that every single person has something they find beautiful and that they truly love. The smell of their child's hair, the silence of a forest, their lover's crooked grin. Their country, their religion, their family. And I believe that if you follow this love all the way to its end, if you start with the thing you find most beautiful and trace it's perfume back to its essence, you will perceive an intangible presence, a swath of stillness that allows the thing you love to be visible like the openness of the sky reveals the presence of the moon.”

-- Geneen Roth

Sweetgum Woodcut - Final Print

When I thought about how this project started I realized the entire idea began from a failed attempt on a different project.  The story began this spring when I was on Facebook and saw there was a call to artists to submit sculpture proposals for the town of Silverton.  I had not done large sculpture in a while so I was surprised that my mind kept going back to the idea of submitting a proposal.  I tried to ignore those thoughts by going on a walk.  While walking through my neighborhood I kept coming across vast amounts of sweetgum balls.  And that is when the idea came to me to weld a giant metal sculpture.

Once I thought of the idea I couldn't stop thinking about how I would do it and the reality of making such a large sculpture.  For days I tried to push the idea out of my head, but I would go to bed thinking about it and wake up thinking about it.  And every day on my walk I would come across sweetgum balls everywhere.

The next day I decided to walk towards Xavier.  I needed a ride to Dayton later that week and thought I might ask the sculpture professor who lives in Dayton for a ride.  When I stopped by his office he wasn't there.  I gave up on the idea because "what was the likelihood that it would work out?" ...and besides I hadn't seen him in years.  As I was passing the last building on campus who did I almost bump into walking out the door?...the sculpture professor who happily offered me a ride to Dayton.  Later that week I rode up to Dayton with him and we talked about various options, materials, sizes, bases, methods, etc. of making the sweetgum sculpture.  He was so encouraging I thought maybe I should actually do it.

When we got to Dayton he dropped me off near his house and my Mom picked me up in her car.  When we got to my Mom's house I was unloading the car when I saw something on the floor.  When I bent over to see what it was, it was a single beautiful sweetgum ball.  In my head I thought, "OK universe!  I get it!  You don't have to keep throwing sweetgums in my path!"  So I submitted my proposal. 

“Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent success.”

― Napoleon Hill

As you might guess, I did not receive the commission to make my giant sculpture.  But around the same time I came across another post by Lyell Castonguay about the BIGINK.  The BIGINK is an extraordinary opportunity for printmakers to create a large woodcut that is printed by Lyell on his giant travelling press.  If I wanted to apply to participate, I had to come up with an idea for a giant woodcut fast. And what do you think sprang into my head?  I had had sweetgums floating around my head for months so it was the obvious choice.  I submitted my application and my idea was accepted!

I began the process by making a giant pencil sketch, transferred it to my plate, and then spent the next couple months carving.  You can see the carving process here.  I carved up until the very last minute before we took off to Columbus to participate in the BIGINK.  It was a truly remarkable experience that I highly recommend.  I loved meeting the other artists and working with them to print everyone's woodcuts.  Lyell printed three prints total of each artists' woodcuts and we each got to take two of our own prints home with us.  You can see my post about that day here.

The two prints I brought home from the BIGINK were printed on beautiful Japanese paper.  But I usually like to print on thick paper so I decided I would try to hand burnish six more prints.  I have only hand-burnished my usual safety-kut lino and was a little nervous about how it would go with a woodcut.  Luckily I had some help from two George's.  The George on the left is a Tiger Lily Press intern who not only helped me burnish but also helped me cut my paper down to size.  The George on the right is my husband.  A GIANT thank you to both of them not only for their muscle but also putting up with my crazy attention to detail.  Also a big thank you to my Dad who helped me cut paper and align my registration pins.  So much gratitude and love for these guys.

In the photo above you can see what a difference the paper makes.  On the left was a thin test paper I use to prime the plate and on the right is the thicker Stonehenge paper.  People like to use thinner paper because you can see where you still need to burnish more.  But I do love the feel of thick paper and you can still see through it a little.

It took two days to pull six prints.  I experimented with spending a bit more time on each print than I had in the past.  I found that lifting the paper up to peak underneath to see spots that needed more work was very helpful.  And while the paper is lifted I tried adding more ink to the plate.  You do risk misaligned or blurry images so you have to be very careful not to pull the paper up too far.  But I found it to be very effective at fixing light spots.

Below you can see the final print with my chop signature added in the bottom right hand corner.  (You can see a video of adding a chop here.)

In the following photos I tried to capture a few of the intimate encounters between the pairs of arms nestled in this sweetgum world.

Whenever I start a project I have no idea where it will take me or how long or involved it will be.  I had no idea that submitting a sculpture proposal would end up in a giant sweetgum woodcut.  But I do know that it is important to pay attention when something keeps popping up in my head. And to notice when the universe showers me with sweetgums.  I used to think these things were casual coincidences.  But I am discovering these synchronicities are signposts on the path if I only have eyes and ears to recognize them.  I am slowly learning to have trust in what life is offering me and to rest in the many arms of that mystery.  It doesn't mean that I can rest on my laurels.  It means I listen when I hear the call to pick up a seed pod and put it in my pocket.  And I take action to plant that seed when the time is right.

“What seeds are you planting?”

― Lailah Gifty Akita

If you are interested in purchasing a print, visit my website NessyPress.com.

Thank you for going on this journey with me!