studio – Water :: Earth :: Wind

07.05.201609.20.2022

Kids Creativity Sesh: printmaking

Our kids creativity seshes for the last couple of weeks were about making monoprints with some different techniques and a small tabletop press.

The first week, we made monoprint plates with drypoint etching on plexi. After learning how to ink the plates and wipe them (leaving the ink only in the scratched lines) we added other ink colors and made painterly marks in the ink layer.

When the inked plates were ready, some of us added flat objects on top, like paper cutouts and pressed leaves or flowers to create collagraphs. The objects we put on top of the inked plates, left white areas on the monoprints (see the grasses on the print below.)

Monoprint "Blue Jay 2" by Maureen — Monoprint “Blue Jay 2” by Maureen

We used really good quality cotton rag paper soaked for a few minutes in water, then pressed dry. Then we ran our printing plates through the small press with the paper on top.

Here are some of the different drypoint monoprints we made. You can see that one etching plate is used to make many different designs. That’s why they are called mono prints.

Okay, so the next week we made two other kinds of printing plates.

No boring stuff in these kids creativity sessions!

This time we didn’t scratch the designs into the plates. The first type of plate we made was a collagraph printing plate. You make these by gluing different things to a heavy cardboard surface to create textures. Then we coated the plates (objects and all) with a sealer and waited for them to be totally dry. The sealer keeps the ink from soaking into the cardboard and other objects we used to create out designs. Some kids used corrugated cardboard, stencils, grid fabric and paper cutouts to cover their cardboard almost totally with textures. Other kids left a lot of empty space on their cardboard plates and just made marks on them with ink and different tools such as their fingers, cotton swabs, brushes and rags.

We tried using corn meal sprinkled onto area where we had painted glue. This worked pretty well to make a very different texture. In the blue monoprint (below) made by Jasmine, you can see the cornmeal in the sky. She wanted to show flower pollen blowing in the wind. In the black and white monoprint (above) by Silas, you can see very lightly sprinkled cornmeal made a cool texture near the top of his composition.

The other kind of plate we made the second week was plexiglass with hot wax applied to it by brushing and dripping. Then we carved designs into the wax with tools. The wax was easier to draw into than last week when we had to scratch with sharp tools into the hard plexiglass. We inked up the wax plates and ran them through the press with paper. Those came out kinda cool. Here are some examples of the waxed monoprints:

We hope you enjoyed seeing the results of our hard work and fun play in Maureen’s art classes. Most of these prints will be framed and on display in October when we have our 2nd Annual Young Voices art exhibit at 1+1=1 Gallery in Helena. Watch for news about that show! We’re all excited about it.

~ The Artful Kids of Kids Creativity Seshes

03.08.201609.20.2022

Threads of Continuity

Every time I begin working on a new series, I have mixed feelings. Being held by what I’ve already started mixed with being impelled by what I want to do next. Melancholy mixed with excitement. Curiosity mixed with worry. Delight mixed with feeling vulnerable. Do you ever feel that way when you start something new?

I haven’t yet exhausted my last series (The Mother Tree work) but I’m ready to keep growing and moving forward. I think to myself “I’ll go back to the Mother Tree or the Salmon Forest or the Ecology of the Unconscious.” Will I? Probably not — right now I’m exploring a new(ish) medium for me. My current mixed media pieces have a new look — still mine, but I think better. I love experimenting with materials, exploring different ways of putting marks on a surface, and new ways to express what wants to come out of me.

So, one of the questions I ask myself as I embark on a new series is, how does this have anything to do with the work I recently completed? Where is the thread of continuity between those other series and this one? I’ve been playing with printmaking for several years (in the big picture, that’s not long at all) and have barely started incorporating collagraphs, monoprints and relief printing into my mixed media paintings. Here are a couple of pieces that have some of my prints as part of the composition:

In The Tongass Forest, the Trees are Made of Salmon

Right now, I’m playing with a small tabletop press (wishing it were alot larger.) I’m trying out techniques that are new to me, but fit my style and objectives perfectly. Chine colle´ is a way to use some of the paper scraps — prints, studies, watercolors, paintings and collage papers I’ve saved. I’m using the old textbooks and readers that have become familiar in my artwork, incorporating childhood motifs along with fish, birds and the occasional nuclear bomb or tree. My personal vocabulary of marks and shapes continues in my new pieces — spirals, circles, spheres, peculiar cross hatching, jabs, roots, geometric shapes and voluptuous strokes. And of course, I’m always passionate about Nature and that’s prominent in my new work: leaves, branches, grasses and other botanical images; water, waves, currents, raindrops; and animals both large and microscopic.

I’m curious to see where I go. That’s a great motivator. I’ll post more when I get something I like enough to say, “This is what I’m doing for the next show.” In the meantime, it’s just a direction.

11.05.201409.20.2022

Ecology of the Unconscious

Introduction:

According to Haida cosmology, Raven called the ancient rain forest into being. The Haida and other indigenous peoples who depended on the resources of the forest and ocean, knew that without the forests, the plentiful salmon would not exist. They understood, because of their close relationship with Nature, the co-dependence of salmon and forest.

Mixed Media on Cradled Wood Panel — “Stream Keeper” by Maureen Shaughnessy

The Story of the Salmon Forest:

We know that forests keep the rivers and salmon populations healthy by cooling the waters and preventing siltation of the gravel beds where salmon spawn. But what about the other way around? Do the forests need the salmon? About 20 years ago, a team of scientists from UBC in Vancouver set about to check this hypothesis.

Studying the Ecology of the Salmon and The Forests:

The team of scientists studied the Tongass Forest in Alaska. With core samples of some of the oldest trees, the team correlated trees’ growth rates over hundreds of years with salmon run. Wide rings matched years the salmon were more plentiful. They also discovered the trees’ tissue contained Nitrogen-15, the rarer of two nitrogen isotopes. All of life has Nitrogen-14 in it. Nitrogen-15 however, comes from the oceans and is rare on land.

"School of Nitrogen-15" — “School of Nitrogen-15” by Maureen Shaughnessy

Nitrogen 15 is normally found in the Oceans:

How did N15 get into the trees so far from the ocean? The salmon brought it! How cool is that? The roots of the forest extend far into the Pacific Ocean.

Salmon are born inland, where they grow to fingerling size then migrate downstream to the ocean. They live most of their lives in the ocean, accumulating body mass (and N15) the whole time. Then, they head back up the original river/stream they came from, to spawn and die. The cycle begins again.

Guess Who Helps Spread N-15 Around?

The plentiful salmon are a rich food source for many animals, especially the bears and eagles. Bears in particular, like to take their huge salmon catch uphill where they can eat it without having to fend off other bears. They eat the guts and heads of the salmon, leaving most of the carcass on the ground. The carcasses are consumed by scavengers, insects, worms, bacteria and fungi. So, a kind of magic is happening here: the salmon carcasses become part of the forest, of the trees and animals, understory plants. The Trees are Made of Salmon!

mixed media painting on wood panel — “Can’t See the Forest for the Fish” by Maureen Shaughnessy

I originally heard the salmon-forest story from my sister, an artist in Vancouver BC. I couldn’t get it out of my head. Salmon began appearing in my dreams. I started this body of work inspired by the story, and by the ways my unconscious transformed it into something meaningful in my own life.

What does the Salmon Forest have to do with the exhibit title, “Ecology of the Unconscious?”

Hmmm …

What is the Unconscious?

Our unconscious is the aspects of ourselves hidden to our conscious. Once we become aware of those aspects, we bring them into everyday life through our behavior, our responses to things around us … and they are no longer hidden.

And Ecology?

Ecology can be simply defined as the relationships between organisms and their environment. I set out with some pretty big questions, hoping to find answers. I am pretty sure I found more questions and not many answers. That’s okay with me though. Mystery is good. Wonder is a good thing.

So, how do Ecology and Unconscious Fit Together?

What is our relationship with the aspects of ourselves that are normally unconscious? How do we become aware of those parts of ourselves … and how do we manifest the hidden gems in our everyday lives? How are our inner aspects reflected in our relationships with Nature and with everything around us?
In Jungian psychology, water signifies the unconscious. So, rivers, rain, fog, the ocean … these are all different aspects of my unconscious self. Fish fly through the water. Birds swim through the air. These are messengers for me. Water links life and land together in an ecosystem. Water/Fish/Birds link my dream life to my waking life and help me understand both.

Humor Helps Us Understand and Go Deeper:

You will find my sense of humor in many of the pieces of this exhibit. I believe that if we approach our unconscious (our dreams) with a healthy sense of humor, it easier to understand. Visual puns are one of my favorite ways to convey an idea. And there are always more levels of meaning in any of my pieces, than what you see at first look.

mixed media on wood panel — “Lucky Chinese Fortune Teller Fish” by Maureen Shaughnessy

Here are some details of the pieces in the exhibit plus a few more I didn’t feature above. In all, the exhibit included 21 pieces in this body of work. Thanks for looking! I would love to hear what you think. Comments are much appreciated! <3