This post authored by Leslie Mutchler.
Recently I was asked to be a Visiting Artist at Kent State University’s Summer Blossom Program in Printmaking. While there I was able to do a number of studio visits with printmakers working in a variety of media. One artist in particular stood out to me- a current graduate student in the Printmaking Department at KSU, Emily Sullivan.
Sullivan’s work exists somewhere between the real and the simulated; occupying spaces both large and small. Sullivan’s prints are not only bright, intense color studies- serigraphs of tidy lines, grid patterns, and geometric shapes- but are further processed- paper is cut and reassembled, scored and folded, manipulated into objects, landscapes and environments and then photographed and digitally printed.
To my eye these meticulously-printed paper pieces paired with industrial spaces function to criticize consumerism. I see quiet commentary on our easy abandonment of plastic and mass-produced materials.
Below are images from her studio and excerpts from our conversation.
Describe your method of working.
My method of working consists of several parts. I generally begin with a concept or vague picture of what my next project will be. This thought requires that I research topics surrounding it, collect imagery that pertains to it, and find other artists who may have dealt with a similar topic in their work. I find it important to include in my research as much theoretical and cultural reading as I can find (not simply limiting myself to art historical practices/ideas) so that the final work is as well rounded and broad in its thinking as possible.
During time spent researching texts and images, I draw, build maquettes and prototypes, test papers, mix colors, etc. I find myself most effective as a maker if many variables have been solved before production begins.
Why is it important that you utilize printmaking processes in your work?
Serigraphy is a crucial process to utilize in my work as it affords me maximum control over the palette; it’s variation as well as the color’s interactions with each other. For example, one of the layers for my origami paper is printed in a split fountain to ensure maximum color variation across the entire collection of flowers once they have been cut and folded.
I utilize flip guide registration which allows me to make instant decisions about the placement of each image in relation to the one under it with complete accuracy and consideration to each sheet of paper. Finally, printmaking allows me to make hundreds of sheets of paper with slight and specific amounts of variation in a short period of time.
For more information and images of Sullivan’s work click here.
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HOW’S EVERYONE AT THE PRINTSHOP AT KENT?