Preamble to the profile
MN Week was born out of the discovery of people I admired online. If I dug them enough, I would click on the About and find a Minnesotan. A few of these discoveries happened in quick succession and I didn’t have to be hit with a snowball to see a pattern.
One thing to note: these profiles are not journalistic, but more personal. I’ll leave the professional writing to the, uh, professionals. Enjoy discovering these talented people living in a place that celebrates music, food and creativity…
Laura Brown and I *met* last year when I began to read her blog. She shared the misery that sometimes accompanies a cube job and eventually took the leap to artist, ditching the 9 to 5. We share a passion for designing paper goods, but Laura’s heart is completely in printmaking. When I first saw some of her prints, I was struck by an earthiness combined with a little quirkiness that made me want to just keep looking at them. I know practically nothing about the process of making a print, so I asked Laura to answer a few questions about it. I’ve never seen Laura use a capital letter, so let’s find out about printmaking together (in lowercase), shall we?
How did you first become interested in printmaking?
during my sophomore year in college, i knew i was going to have to pick an emphasis for my fine art major. i looked around the department at the different possibilities and professors, and found that the printmaking professor was energetic, excited about what she did and about students. she took the time to really mentor students who were interested, and keep making her own work at the same time. she was really a model for how to maintain a personal studio practice and teach at the same time. i was drawn to her before i even took a printmaking class, and i remember realizing that if i was going to get the most out of my education, i should emphasize in printmaking and learn all i could from her. it probably sounds funny, but i decided i would like printmaking and then was so happy and relieved that i actually loved it once i started doing it!
Describe in 10 words or less what exactly printmaking is?
A crazy request from me, but Laura rose to the challenge with a haiku, then more words 🙂
okay, here it is:
wood/metal/stone/screen
ink and paper
backward, forward
surprise!
i usually define printmaking as a fine art medium where you make an image on one surface (a screen, a wood/linoleum block, a stone, a metal plate), ink it, and print it on another surface (usually paper). it takes some planning and thought because you have to think about what you want your image to be in the end, and then make it backwards on the block/plate/stone. this is one of the things about the printmaking process that make the final result kind of surprising, which is one of my favorite things about printmaking. i start with an idea and start making the image, but to some extent, i give up control to the medium itself, allowing the wood grain or etching marks to take over and make the print what it is. then, when the print comes out of the press, i always get really excited to see how it has turned out! another great thing about printmaking is that it creates multiple originals, which i like because i like sharing my work and i can do that easily with my prints. prints are also great for art buyers, because they are truly original pieces and are often more affordable than paintings or other media where there is only one original (these original multiples are very different than prints made from original paintings, which are referred to as giclee/offset lithographs/digital reproductions). when you buy an original print, you are getting a piece that was made by the artist’s two hands.
even though everyone has probably made a print at some point in their lives (think potato prints in elementary school!), and even though prints are everywhere (even t-shirts!), printmaking is not the most familiar medium to folks. but it’s all around you and it’s wonderful!
Who’s art do you return to over and over again?
karen kunc (i’m planning to apply to grad school next year and i would die if i got into university of nebraska-lincoln, where she teaches. which would be a shame, really. it’s hard to go to school when you’re dead). her work is really colorful and based on landscape, which are things i identify with.
annu vertanen is another really great printmaker whose work i admire.
seiko tachibana is another one. her work is always so beautiful.
and, really, i do go back often to martha, who got me started in the first place.
Name your 3 favorite foods to eat in MN.
ooh! um. . . well, these are some of my favorite places to eat, for sure:
brasa rotisserie (slow-cooked meats, southern and south american food). anything there is delicious.
sen yai sen lek (which means ‘big noodle, little noodle’!) it’s a thai noodle shop in my neighborhood, and i love it. i haven’t eaten anything i haven’t liked.
the modern cafe. this is another neighborhood place, my favorite for breakfast. i always get biscuits and gravy.
First rock concert you ever saw: who? where? and why?
oh, wow. i’m sure i tagged along to concerts my older sister went to, but the first ones i recall going to because i wanted to were probably some kind of christian rock shows in high school. i grew up in a pretty conservative family and didn’t really learn a lot about good music until i went to college and was enlightened (thank goodness!) since i also grew up in tiny towns, going to shows also involved several hours of travel, too. oh, high school.
Now that we’ve seen images and read about the process, let’s check out some finished prints.
Laura has been awarded a residency at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts, giving her access to some of the best letterpress, typesetting, book binding, and papermaking facilities in the country. She is currently raising money for supplies at Kickstarter.
You can visit Laura’s Etsy shop and local peeps can check out some places and events here where she’ll be in the next few months.
All of the photos in this post were taken by another talented MN woman, Kate NG Sommers. Thanks for sharing your beautiful images of Laura and her process.
I hope you all enjoyed this week of talented Minnesotans. I have enjoyed discovering and sharing them with you and appreciate you stopping by. If you missed any of the posts, here are all the characters below. Just click on a face to learn more about them.
