Why Printmaking

An interesting discussion came up on Wet Canvas a few weeks ago, and as I had a few printmakers at my fingertips on Friday, I thought I'd ask them my question of all questions for printmakers: Why printmaking?

Karen Kunc was my first victim, er, subject. She thought it was a very interesting question (thanks Karen!), and said that she actually has a ready answer for it, as she's been thinking about that question specifically for a number of years. Of course, I should have written this down right away, because I have the attention span of a guppy unless I specifically write something down, I don't always remember correctly. I believe her answer was that she was attracted to printmaking because of the quality of line that she could achieve, and because it was something that was different. She found printmaking intriguing right from the start of her artistic career, and while she recognized that it was unlikely to bag her much cash or world wide acclaim, it suited her artistic goals and passions. Karen is very drawn to lines (no pun intended); she notices that when she evaluates imagery or looks at the world around her, that's what her mind is focusing on. Karen's work currently examines the relationship of nature & society, urban & rural environments, and the balance (or imbalance) between them.

Next was Jim Westergard. His answer was simple: he walked into the print studio for the first time, and took a deep breath full of the smells of the studio and was hooked. Of course, it was probably all of the organic compounds used in printmaking that really got him! Maybe that explains his quirky view of the world in his engravings?

Gene Leavitt's response was also fairly straightforward and pragmatic: printmakers get to make duplicates of their work so that they don't have to be so precious about the "original". Gene also works in many other media, including watercolour and pen-and-ink; you can see his illustrator's background in his work, which also exhibits his incredible imagination.