Q: Describe the process of producing this painting.

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The original print is actually a reductive print, or a suicide print. Basically, for each color that you want to print, you have to carve away the next layer of linoleum (or whatever medium you’re using) for that previous color to show on your paper. Oftentimes it’s a bit of a mind game because you have to really think about which color you are printing when and which parts you’re supposed to carve away in a certain order. So my last color from the reductive print was the dark blue layer, and because most of my image was still intact, I printed that last layer on a bunch of candy wrappers that I taped together.

 

To break down the printing process even further, what I did was carve my block of linoleum, ink it with oil based ink, lay the paper on top on the press bed, and then roll it through the press.

 

Q: What do you want people to experience from viewing this piece? 

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I want people to feel a sense of curiosity when they see this piece. From afar, one can’t necessarily tell what it is exactly. People may even think it looks weird. But I want people to want to understand what it is exactly. And I think when people realize that it’s printed on Russian candy wrappers, whether they figure it out themselves or read it off of the description, they get this light, happy feeling in their heart because of how childish that is. The candy wrappers add whimsy to an already whimsical design, so I’m hoping people will feel such happy feelings when viewing the piece. And lastly, I hope people will come to understand who I am a little bit.  

 

Q: How would you describe your approach to creating art?

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That is a really good question. I only recently started considering myself an artist, so I don’t have a pompous attitude or hold myself on a high pedestal, and hopefully never will. But really, creating art for me is a bit random. I like that anything in my life can inspire me, whether it’s my love for peaches or someone else’s art that I see on Tumblr. Anything can lead to an idea, and I think that’s exciting! It’s even better when I start putting various ideas together, and then I get really excited and can’t resist putting that big idea to paper. Oftentimes I will save images that inspire me, either on my laptop or phone. If I think of something random from scratch, I will write it down in my journal or sketch it out. Then, I typically draw it digitally on my iPad and the end result is usually either a digital design or a full sketch that’s ready to be transferred to my carving block. As much as I love drawing digitally, there’s something so great about the messy, grueling, sometimes even dangerous, work that is involved in the lost art of printmaking that really holds a special place in my heart.