Victoria McAlister

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

My goal as a printmaker and artist is to explore the richness of marks on paper. My inspiration is botanical. Whereas traditional printmaking has used the print process to duplicate original works, contemporary printmaking incorporates the process itself into the art—the print mark becomes all important, and just as the painter uses paint as his medium, the printmaker "paints" with both the process (woodcut, etching, etc.) and the paper. Consequently, each work is a layering of paper, color, and texture that collaborate to produce the finished image.

The paper is generally handmade and chosen for its ability to convey the subtle expressions of the printing mark. Over this based I often use thicker handmade paper that introduces greater texture into the work. All papers are selected for their ability to absorb the delicacy and richness of the ink.

Color is influenced by both ink and paper and by the chine colle process that truly is a "painting with paper" method that contributes so much to the complexity of the final image.

The energy of texture results from the woodcuts that inform most of my work as the last phase in the printing process. The first step is the creation of an intaglio plate called a "collagraph". However, the energy of each piece is, I think, dependent on the woodcut that is printed over the collagraph.

As with any art process, complexity is unending so each artist must devise a method that best suits his/her imagery and aesthetic. Because the printmaking mark as an "art mark" is limited only by the artist’s imagination, it’s variations make printmaking, I think, the ideal method for the expression of the contemporary vision.