May 10th 2012 WSAW
Capers presents artist Jennifer Ament!
About the Artist:
Seattle artist Jennifer Ament’s love of art started at an early age when she was inspired by her art teacher and eccentric relatives… Jennifer created many paintings and sculptures as a child, and even won an award or two. Recently she continued her studies at Pratt Fine Arts Center and Gage Academy Of Art. Jennifer begins her creative process by illustrating an image to a nearly finished state and then deconstructs and reworks the illustration by creating a highly, labor-intensive linoleum cut print, each of which is usually a 2 or 3 day process.
About Printmaking:
A linocut is a method of “relief block printmaking”, the same as a woodcut. The image is carved from the lino block using special tools with varying sized blades depending on the depth and thickness of the line required. The areas cut away will be cream (the paper color) and the areas left in relief will pick up the ink and print black.
To make a print, the surface of the carved block is inked using a rubber roller then a sheet of paper is laid on top. The back of the paper is normally rubbed with a “Barren”, (bamboo leaf covered disk), but I use a wooden spoon or my fingernails for a cleaner result, until the inked parts of the image are transferred evenly onto the paper. The paper is then peeled off the block and laid on a rack to dry.
Making a print by hand rather than using a press allows for more subtlety and fine detail in the imagery cut into the block to be revealed as the pressure used can be varied so blurring and overprinting don’t occur. No two prints in an edition are identical, subtle variations in application result in each print being uniquely individual.
West Seattle Art Walk 