Printfluence
Organized by Xanthe Isbister, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
Originally Curated by Sara Norquay for the Society of Northern
Alberta Print-artists
AFA Travelling Exhibition Program Region 4
Interpretive Catalogue and Educator’s Guide
Cover Image: Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski, I am Time, I am Timeless, 2005.
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Table of Contents
4 About the Esplanade
5 About the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program
7 About The Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists
9 Exhibition Statement
10 Meet the Artists
14 The Two Plate Reductive Print Process
16 List of Works
21 Introduction to Educator’s Guide and Lesson Plans
22 Critiquing Student Work
24 Lesson 1: Abstract Collagraphs
26 Lesson 2: Printing the World
28 Lesson 3: Stencil Painting
31 Acknowledgments
33 Bibliography
Image left: Detail: Andrea Itzek, Dragonflies, Algonquin Park, 2011-2012.
About the Esplanade
The Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre is where the stories of our great
collective culture are told in music and dance, painting and sculpture,
plays and concerts, exhibitions and installations, artifacts and objets d’art,
education programs and private events. Featuring a 700-seat main stage
balcony theatre which boasts superior technology and striking design, the
Esplanade is where Medicine Hat celebrates arts and heritage.
A marvel of contemporary Canadian architecture on traditional Blackfoot
territory just steps from the South Saskatchewan River, the Esplanade
occupies an eminent position on downtown’s historic First Street
Southeast. From its rooftop terrace, you can see Saamis, the dramatic
shoreline escarpment which is the setting for the story of how Medicine
Hat got its name.
Inside, visitors discover the vibrant Esplanade Art Gallery, the prized
Esplanade Museum, the Esplanade Studio Theatre across the lobby from
the Esplanade Main Stage Theatre, the expansive Esplanade Archives
and Reading Room, an art education space called the Discovery Centre,
the catering-friendly Cutbanks Room, the McMan Bravo! Coffee House
and lots of volunteers and staff who are eager to guide you to the right
place—and tell you their versions of our city’s namesake tale on the way.
In the northeast corner of the Esplanade grounds stands the oldest
remaining brick home in Alberta, the Ewart-Duggan House. With its
gingerbread trim and quaint heritage gardens, it now serves as a
charming venue for select cultural events and a home away from
home for artists in residence.
The Esplanade opened in celebration of Alberta’s centennial in 2005 and
ever since, Medicine Hat has welcomed a steady procession of artists
and audiences, storytellers and story-lovers from around the region and
around the globe. The celebration continues today.
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About the AFA Travelling
Exhibition Program
The Alberta Foundation for the Arts (AFA) has supported a provincial
travelling exhibition program since 1981. The mandate of the AFA’s
Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX) is to provide all Albertans the
opportunity to enjoy visual art exhibitions in their community.
Three regional galleries and one arts organization coordinate the program
for the AFA:
Northwest Region: The Art Gallery of Grande Prairie, Grande Prairie
Northeast and North Central Region: The Art Gallery of Alberta, Edmonton
Southwest Region: The Alberta Society of Artists, Calgary
Southeast Region: The Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre, Medicine Hat
Each year, more than 300,000 Albertans enjoy many exhibitions in
communities ranging from High Level in the north to Milk River in the south
and virtually everywhere in between. The Alberta Foundation for the Arts
TREX Program also offers educational support material to help educators
integrate the visual arts in the school curriculum.
Exhibitions for the TREX program are curated from a variety of sources
including private and public collections. A major part of the program
consists of making the AFA’s extensive art collection available to Albertans.
This growing collection is comprised of more than 8,000 artworks which
showcase the talents of more than 2,000 artists. As the only provincial art
collection in Alberta, it chronicles the development of the province’s
vibrant visual arts community and serves as an important cultural legacy
for all Albertans.
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About The Society
of Northern Alberta
Print-artists
The Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists (SNAP) is a not-for-profit,
artist-run centre, and a registered charity incorporated under the Societies
Act of Alberta. Since its inception in 1982, SNAP has grown to become one
of Canada’s premier centres for research and innovation in printmaking as
well as providing a unique forum for discussion and examination of critical
and theoretical issues related to printmaking and image culture.
SNAP is dedicated to the promotion of both traditional and experimental
printmaking practices including prints, artists’ books, posters and printbased installation as well as new, experimental and hybrid forms. To
achieve these goals the Society maintains a permanent, dedicated space
including a gallery and printmaking studio, and provides a comprehensive
range of programming including: exhibitions (CARFAC fees are paid to
exhibiting artists), classes, workshops, lectures, mentorships, artists’
residencies and publishing. Programming for exhibitions and education is
reviewed and revised periodically to keep pace with new developments in
the field and to better serve SNAP’s diverse constituency, which includes
the many individuals and groups from all backgrounds and levels of
experience who take courses and attend exhibitions at SNAP, practicing
professional print-artists, schools, high-risk youth groups and more.
http://www.snapartists.com/exhibitions
Image left: Detail: Brenda Malkinson, June Nineteenth, 2011-2012.
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Exhibition Statement
In this exhibition, four professional artists came together to explore the
unknown. Each from different artistic backgrounds, Andrea Itzeck, Brenda
Malkinson and Sara Norquay studied the ancient art of reductive colour
woodblock printing with Tadeusz Warszynski, the renowned print artist
originally from Kolbudy, Poland. While maintaining their own personal
approach to art making, each employed Warszynski’s multiple woodblock
technique, creating colourful, vibrant and organic works, using abstraction
and narrative themes.
On a curatorial trip to Edmonton, I viewed a visiting international artist’s
exhibition of work at the Society of Northern Alberta Print-artists.
The pieces displayed in the front gallery were very impressive, but the
brightly coloured prints in the second space caught my eye, and I ended
up spending a great deal of time admiring the work of the “woodblock
group”—Itzeck, Malkinson, Norquay and Warzynski—instead.
Woodblock printing originated in China during the Tang Dynasty in AD
800. Five hundred years later, during the Ming Dynasty, full-colour prints
with multiple plates and colours were being created. The process of
carving an image into a wood plate takes many hours, and an artist will
usually use more than one plate to create the final image. Multiple prints,
using multiple plates on one sheet of paper, comprise the final piece. This
way, the image develops a particular perspective and can boast a range
of tones. During two-plate reductive printing, the blocks are partially
destroyed, making these works limited editions.
The time, craftsmanship and skill it takes to create these works is evident
in each piece in the exhibition. The artists’ individual journeys along with
their experiences with other artistic practices informed their creations,
and they learned from one another while creating together.
Xanthe Isbister, TREX Program Manager/Curator
Image left: Detail: Sara Norquay, Impasse Harlequin, 2011.
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Meet the Artists
Andrea Itzeck
Andrea Itzeck is a jeweler and printmaker
whose works express her love of nature and
natural materials.
Itzeck was born in 1965 in Bavaria, Germany,
and apprenticed as a jeweler in the old
tradition with a master goldsmith from 1984
to 1988 in Munich. In 2007, she moved from
Germany to Edmonton and established Sui
Generis, a design studio where she crafts unique pieces from fine metals
and gems as well as from river stones and polished wood. She is also a
book artist and in 2012, won an award for her paper creations from the
Canadian Bookbinders and Book Artists Guild. In 2011, Itzeck undertook
studies in woodcut printmaking and started making moku hanga,
a Japanese style of the art.
Artist’s Statement
My artwork is created from spontaneous ideas. In this series, my subjects
are primarily creatures found in the natural environment. I also consider
my artwork to be an homage to mother nature, emphasizing the four
elements: earth, water, air and fire.
Woodcut printing offers an exciting artistic arena for me. Every step in the
process is challenging and fascinating at the same time. I am inspired by
Canada’s exceptional beauty and influenced by my European heritage.
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Brenda Malkinson
Brenda Malkinson is renowned for creating
works of public art in glass but in recent
years, she has been building an equally
celebrated reputation as a printmaker.
Malkinson was born in Calgary in 1952
and learned printmaking at the Alberta
College of Art in the early 1970s. Over the
next three decades, however, her practice
centred on architectural works featuring innovative methods of vitreous
coloured glass. In 2008, she began to explore printmaking and ways of
combining its processes with her techniques for painting and staining
glass. Malkinson has been teaching art and design at the University of
Alberta since 1993 and has served as artist-in-residence at art schools in
Canada, France and Switzerland. Most recently, two of her pieces were
on display at the International Print Centre New York in the New
Prints/2014 Summer exhibition.
Artist’s Statement
“It is the job of poetry to clean up our word-clogged reality by creating
silences around things.” Stéphane Mallarmé
In this series of prints, I draw attention to the forms and textures of wood
by presenting them as visual poems. Trees make vital contributions to our
lives, from cleaning the air we breathe to providing material for building
all manner of objects for our use. These images pay homage to this
essential natural entity. The titles are birth dates of artists, not
necessarily well-known, who have passed away.
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Sara Norquay
Sara Norquay has been a printmaker of
monotype and photopolymer etchings since
1990 but in 2010, she turned her attention to
the woodcut method.
Born in Edmonton in 1953, Norquay studied
at the Alberta College of Art in the 1970s and
earned bachelor’s degrees in English and
Education from the University of Toronto
and Queens University in the 1980s. After living in Santa Barbara, California,
for twenty years, she returned to Canada to settle in Edmonton in 2009. Her
works have been exhibited in California, Canada and South Korea. Norquay
is also a book artist, a textile artist and an art instructor in Edmonton.
Artist’s Statement
These colour woodcuts are developed from small collage studies I did in
the 1970’s. The woodcut process allows me to reconsider the interaction
between shape and colour in the original compositions to find new
meanings in a larger format. This series suggests maps, diagrams and
billboard remnants; fragments that might represent imagined space.
My prints imagine worlds through the act of creation. They suggest
possibilities for undiscovered places.
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Tadeusz Warszynski
Tadeusz was born into a family of educators in
Kolbudy, Poland, in 1955 and from a very early
age, has been a disciple of the arts.
Warszynski began to study music as a child
and eventually received a master’s degree
in percussion from the Gdansk Academy of
Music in 1980. In 1982, he moved to Edmonton
to pursue his fascination with the visual arts
and in 1996, he received a master’s degree in fine arts from the University
of Alberta where he now teaches printmaking. His works have been
exhibited in Canada, Germany, Turkey, Thailand and South Korea and
have been acquired by the collections of the Winspear Centre and the
Edmonton Art Gallery, among others.
Artist’s Statement
Change, passage of time, cycles of birth and death are the themes
that are always present in my work. As an artist, I am interested in
recreating sensations that are unspoken and universal at the same
time, I think, that is why I create art at the first place, because of
this sense of premonition, an urge.
Very often there is a paradox or contradiction that brings feelings
of uncertainty or suspension. This is important to me because it
helps to create an ongoing dialogue with the viewer (no conclusion)
and becomes a great metaphor for life where nothing is as it seems.
The process of printmaking enhances and enriches my imagery.
The multi-layered images create emotional density as well as the
tonal qualities I am looking for. The very nature of making plates,
their sculptural body and the necessity of pre-visualization of the
image further enrich my experience with the medium.
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The Two Plate
Reductive Print Process
Explained by Sara Norquay
“ When creating an image using the two plate reductive process, the
lightest colours are printed first, moving to the darker colours later. In my
case, I often use both blocks, negatively and positively inking only some
areas as I go.”
The two plate reductive process works like this:
1. The artist first carves shapes out of the negative plate, in order to
have white paper beneath colours printed from the positive plate
(see image1).
2. Before moving on to carving the positive plate, the artist first prints
the negative plate, creating the background of the print, on as many pieces of paper plus a few extra in the edition they want to make.
3.
Moving to the positive plate, the artist carves ditches around
the shapes in the positive plate, the same shapes carved out of
the negative plate (see image 2 and 3).
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Inking only certain shapes independently from each other on the
positive block, the artist then prints the first layer of colour onto all
the pieces of paper (see image 4).
5.
Returning to the negative plate, the artist continues to carve, ink and print again. These steps are also continued on the positive plate.
In this way, the artist carves and prints back and forth from one block
to the other, creating layers of colour on all the prints from which the
edition will be selected.
“ The two plate reductive method does not allow for the artist to produce an
infinite number of prints in an edition. I usually start with 10 pieces of paper
but things can happen in the process to reduce the number of prints in an
edition. I am happy if I get 7 prints enough alike to make an edition.
I usually accept slight imperfections in my prints. After all, it is handmade.”
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Image 1: First plate (negative) with the small
collage piece that inspired the woodblock print
Lost Geography
Image 2: Positive plate with one colour
Image 3: Positive plate with two colours.
Image 4: Positive plate with independently inked
shapes using multiple colours.
Image 5: The print with 5 colours.
Image 6: The print with 6 colours.
Image 7: The print with 9 colours.
Image 8: The completed piece Lost Geography by
Sara Norquay
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List of Works
From the collections of the artists
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1. Detail: Sara Norquay, Brakeman’s
Blues, 2012. Two plate reductive
woodcut, 23 13⁄16 x 1715⁄16 inches.
2. Detail: Sara Norquay, Lost
Geography, 2010. Woodcut,
23 13⁄16 x 17 15⁄16 inches.
3. Detail: Sara Norquay, Venne
Diachrome, 2011. Woodcut,
23 13⁄16 x 17 15⁄16 inches.
4. Detail: Sara Norquay, Passing
Through Terrain Vague, 2011.
Woodcut, 23 13⁄16 x 17 15⁄16 inches.
5. Detail: Sara Norquay, Impasse
Harlequin, 2011. Two plate reductive
woodcut, 2313⁄16 x 1715⁄16 inches.
6. Detail: Andrea Itzek, Mimicry,
2011-2012. Woodcut,
24 x 18 1⁄8 inches.
7. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski, I am
Time, I am Timeless, 2005.
Woodcut, 15 3⁄4 x 1911⁄16 inches.
8. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski,
Transfiguring Fields, 2004.
Woodcut, 117⁄16 x 12 13⁄16 inches.
9. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski,
Of Joy and Sorrow, 2010.
Woodcut, 1415⁄16 x 187⁄8 inches.
10. Detail: Andrea Itzek, Upstream,
2011-2012. Woodcut,
1711⁄16 x 2313⁄16 inches.
11. Detail: Andrea Itzek, Time Bandit,
2011-2012. Woodcut,
17 15⁄16 x 23 13⁄16 inches.
12. Detail: Andrea Itzek, Trochilidae,
2011-2012. Woodcut,
18 x 23 7⁄16 inches.
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List of Works
continued...
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13. Detail: Andrea Itzek, Dragonflies,
Algonquin Park, 2011-2012.
Woodcut, 17 11/16 x 23 13/16 inches.
14. Detail: Brenda Malkinson, October
Seventh, 2011-2012. Woodcut,
1715⁄16 x 24 5⁄16 inches.
15. Detail: Brenda Malkinson, August
Twenty-Fifth, 2011-2012. Woodcut,
1715⁄16 x 245⁄16 inches.
16. Detail: Brenda Malkinson, June
Nineteenth, 2011-2012. Woodcut,
17 15⁄16 x 24 inches.
17. Detail: Brenda Malkinson,
November Fifteenth, 2011-2012.
Woodcut, 18 1⁄8 x 24 inches.
18. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski,
The Shape Of Things, 2010.
Woodcut, 8 7⁄8 x 6 7⁄8 inches.
19. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski,
Out of Darkness, 2010. Woodcut,
1415⁄16 x 20 1⁄16 inches.
20. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski,
Fields of Influence, 2005.
Woodcut, 15 3⁄8 x 1911⁄16 inches.
21. Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski,
Nocturne, 2006. Woodcut,
9 9⁄16 x 1113⁄16 inches.
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Introduction to Educator’s
Guide and Lesson Plans
The AFA Travelling Exhibition Program Southeast created this educator’s guide
based on the exhibition’s themes and concepts. It is composed of lesson plans and
informative material. We strive to create projects that will inspire individuals to
experience our exhibitions beyond their decorative aspects and to explore their own
creativity. Educators, writers, curators and artists have all contributed content; we
hope you create something amazing from it.
Detail: Tadeusz Warszynski, Transfiguring Fields, 2004.
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Critiquing Student Work
There are several ways to approach discussing art with students in an objective, constructive
manner. The exercise of talking with students about their completed pieces is similar to grading
assignments in other areas of study. “Because so many view art class, at least at the elementary
level, simply as a therapy, or as play period without significant content or standards, they feel it is
a good place to praise virtually anything a student produces without regard to true merit”(Prince,
16). We need to approach art/visual expression projects the same way we would approach, for
example, math or music projects. By doing so, we place just as much value on visual expression
as we do on traditional classes. This helps prove to students that their efforts, work ethic and
creativity in art class are just as important as the skills necessary in other classes. Students who
have a difficult time in other areas of study may excel in art, and this needs to be recognized and
valued to help promote self-esteem.
“The Four Cs” of objective critique:
Craftsmanship
Comprehension
Creativity
Composition
Craftsmanship can be determined by how well the student has controlled the material. Some
students work in an expressive manner and at first glance, it might appear they have not taken the
time or made the effort. “Thinking outside the box is not the same as colouring outside the lines”
(Prince 13). This can be a delicate issue. While the students are working on their pieces, you will
be able to monitor those who are “rushing” through and those who are focused and trying their
best. It is important to speak with the students about craftsmanship before they begin. Encourage
students to take time to think about their pieces and work carefully with the material to help them
produce a final product of which they can be proud.
Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements in a work of art. Some individuals
have an instinctual sense of composition while others struggle with this. This concept is the most
difficult of the four to master, and the pieces that stand out usually have the most successful
composition. Composition involves object placement and how the viewer’s eye moves around the
piece.
Comprehension refers to how well the student understands the objectives of the project. This can
be determined upon reviewing the project criteria with the group/class before the critique begins.
Remind the class of the objectives. Compare the final pieces with the project descriptions to
determine whether the students followed the criteria.
Creativity refers to “the quality of an artwork that sets it apart from the others in the class”
(Prince 14). Each project will have an objective, a materials list, step-by-step instructions and visual
examples. Some students may copy the demonstration piece or pieces made by classmates, or they
may be creative and design a unique piece following the project criteria. Any of these results are
acceptable. Copying is not acceptable in other areas of study but is very common in visual art. Most
artists have copied or been inspired by a piece at one time or another, sometimes subconsciously.
Usually when individuals are struggling creatively, they look to pieces or people they admire.
Those who create a unique piece while following the criteria of the project, however, are
exhibiting creativity.
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Image right: Detail: Brenda Malkinson, August Twenty-Fifth, 2011-2012.
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Lesson 1: Abstract Collagraphs
By Sara Norquay
Objectives
1. Create an abstract collagraph using glued-on shapes, textures and relief carving.
2.Gain knowledge and an understanding of the relief printing process.
Introduction
Collagraphs are prints of plates made by building up a thin relief surface. They can be created by
gluing shapes and textures onto a piece of cardboard and/or removing thin layers of the cardboard.
To be durable throughout the printing process, the matte board plate needs to be sealed with an
acrylic gel medium before inking.
Materials
· Matte board
· String
· Cloth
· Thin embossed paper or plastic
· Fine sand
· Small carving tools
· Pencil
· Paintbrush
· T-shirt rags
· White glue
· Gel medium (purchase at an art
and craft supply store)
· Soft four-inch brayer
· Thick card stock (such as file folders)
· AKUA etching ink (soy-oil based—can be wiped up with soap and water)
· Thick paper such as construction paper or printmaking paper (found at arts and craft stores)
Instructions
1. Begin by cutting out a variety of shapes using the thick card stock.
2.Glue the shapes onto a piece of matte board.
3.Carve around the shapes glued to the matte board, be sure to not carve through
the matte board.
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4.Peel off the glued on card stock shapes.
5.Using a paint brush, apply gel medium onto the entire surface of the board.
6.While the medium is drying, use a pencil to draw over the gel medium, this will create different textures when the piece is printed. You can also add any additional textures such as sand or string while the gel medium is wet.
7.Put the matte board aside and wait for the gel medium to dry.
8.Once the gel medium is dry, ink the board using a brayer.
9.Using a rag, wipe the ink off the surface of the matte board.
10.The only ink remaining should be in the carved areas.
11.Place the matte board ink side down onto your paper.
12.Roll a clean brayer overtop of the entire board.
13.Lift board from the paper carefully, revealing the print.
Discussion
How do you feel about your completed print? Was it what you expected?
What part of the process did you enjoy most? Creating shapes, carving into the matte board or
inking and printing the piece?
After you printed your piece, were you surprised when the opposite image appeared on the paper?
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The inked matte board
The print created from the carved matte board
Lesson 2: Printing the World
Find and Print Objects Found in the Environment
By Sara Norquay
Objectives
1.
To increase awareness of relief
surfaces in our environment.
2.
To use these surfaces creatively
through relief printmaking techniques.
Introduction
Relief printmaking is the oldest form of printmaking done by humans. You’ve probably seen
footprints, handprints or imprints of leaves in cement sidewalks that were made before the cement
was dry. Perhaps you’ve noticed animal tracks in snow or sand. The world is full of surfaces with
carved or forged indentations. To a printmaker, these surfaces beg to be printed. For centuries,
people have made gravestone rubbings, a kind of relief printmaking. More than one artist has inked
up manhole covers and printed them onto heavy paper by driving a vehicle over them. There are
many ready-made printable surfaces in the world just waiting for your creative mind.
Materials
· Printable objects: soles of shoes, leaves, bits of cardboard, bubble wrap, flat plastic items,
paper clips and other bits of wire or string, fingers, hands, feet, articles of clothing such as
disposable gloves
· Scissors
· A soft 4 inch brayer
· Ink: AKUA etching ink (soy-oil based—can
be wiped up with soap and water), Speedball
relief ink (extender needed if printing in a dry
air environment) or Gamblin relief ink (can be
wiped up with vegetable oil or baby oil. Don’t
use toxic solvents!)
· Old T-shirts or rags for cleanup
· Construction paper, drawing paper, or Japanese
paper (e.g., Masa paper). Thinner papers are
easier to print by hand
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Instructions
1.
Collect relief objects and surfaces that can be printed such as:
washable plastic
paper and cardboard
leaves, cloth, metal or stone
wheels on toy vehicles
soles of running shoes
2. Cut the object into an interesting shape if the object allows for it, for example
plastic bubble wrap.
3. Ink your object with a brayer or press into printmaking ink in a tray.
4. Press paper onto inked object or press the object onto the paper.
Note: To press the paper onto the inked surface use your hand or a wooden spoon.
You can also use an etching press or nipping press. Inked objects can be printed by
pressing them onto the paper like a rubber stamp.
5. Print different objects on the same piece of paper to create a design. Remember to
leave white space within your composition.
Discussion
Do you feel the objects that you chose create an interesting composition of shapes and textures?
Did you have a concept for the image you created? If so, did you base your choice of objects on the
concept of your idea?
Do you feel it is difficult to understand what an artist is trying to communicate when an abstract
composition has been created?
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Lesson 3: Stencil Painting
Inspired by Brenda Malkinson’s Woodblock Print October Seventh
Objectives
1.
Learn how to create original handmade stencils.
2.
Use the handmade stencils to create a unique
painting inspired by trees.
Introduction
Stencils and silk screening became the main commercial
print process in textiles and advertising in the first half
of the twentieth century. The process was a vehicle for
unique designs to be mass produced on materials such
as fabrics and posters. In the early 1960s, artists such as
Andy Warhol unlocked the “potential for expression as
a fine art medium, creating works of art that [translated]
the qualities of opaque three dimensional objects into
Brenda Malkinson, October Seventh, 2011-2012.
two dimensional prints,” (Hughes and Vernon-Morris
323). With the proper material, a stencil can be used to create an image over and over again and
“provides a quality always seen as the hallmark of the screen printing process — sharp edges
defining areas of flat colour,” (Hughes and Vernon-Morris 325).
Brenda Malkinson’s Inspiration
“Trees make vital contributions to our lives, from cleaning the air we breathe to providing material
for building all manner of objects for our use. These images pay homage to this essential natural
entity.”
Materials
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· Plexiglas palette
· Freezer paper (Reynolds brand has wax on one side)
· Small bristle brush
· A piece of white cotton or canvas
· Scissors
· Textile medium (purchase at craft store)
· Iron
· Acrylic paint
· Newspaper
· Embroidery hoop for display (purchase at craft store) OR
Wooden frame (staples and stapler to adhere fabric once painting
is complete)
Getting Started
Trees were the inspiration for Brenda Malkinson’s series of prints in the exhibition Printfluence.
In her artist’s statement, she talks about what they mean to her. As a group, discuss what trees
represent to you (e.g., nature, seasons, family). Make a list on the board. Look at the list of words
and choose one that appeals to you. This will be the subject of your piece. Think about how this
subject makes you feel. What images and colours come to mind? Sketch out your ideas but keep
in mind that you are making a stencil. How can you best represent your subject using simple
shapes and solid colours?
Step by Step Instructions
1. After you have sketched a few ideas, draw your image on the non-shiny side of
the parchment paper.
2. Cut a line into the paper starting from the bottom edge, then cut out the image you have drawn.
3. Once your image is cut out, place the stencil on your fabric, shiny side down (the plastic side).
4. With an iron on low to medium heat (steam turned off), press down on the stencil firmly.
The plastic will melt and adhere the stencil to the fabric.
5. Place masking tape over your initial cut line to prevent the paint from seeping into it.
6. Mix two parts textile medium to one part acrylic paint until fully blended.
7. Apply the paint with a bristle brush, starting at the edge of the stencil and working inward.
8. Finish painting all the areas and let dry for several hours or overnight.
9. Peel off the freezer paper to reveal your print.
10. Stretch the fabric in the embroidery hoop or wooden frame and cut off the excess if necessary.
Discussion
Show your print to your fellow classmates and look at their prints.
Can you tell which word each person chose for his or her stencil?
Find someone who chose the same word as you. How are your stencils similar?
How are they different?
What was the most challenging part about working with the stencil?
What part did you enjoy the most?
In the beginning, everyone started with the same concept: trees.
Were you surprised by the variety of ideas that everyone had even
though you all started with the same concept?
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Acknowledgments
Special thanks to those who have contributed to the success of this
TREX publication:
Joanne Marion, Director/Curator, Art Gallery, Esplanade Arts
and Heritage Centre
Joanne Ellis, Gallery Assistant, Esplanade Arts and Heritage Centre
Andrea Webb, Promotions and Production Assistant, Esplanade Arts
and Heritage Centre
Elizabeth Capak, Art Collection Consultant, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Gail Lint, Art Collection Consultant, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Neil Lazaruk, Art Preparator, Alberta Foundation for the Arts
Lee Anne Charbonneau, Contributing Editor
Sara Norquay, Artist
Image left: Detail: Sara Norquay, Venne Diachrome, 2011.
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Bibliography
Cochran, Bente Roed. Printmaking in Alberta, 1945–1985. Edmonton, AB: The University
of Alberta Press, 1989.
Hughes, Ann Darcy, and Hebe Vernon-Morris. The Printmaking Bible. San Francisco,
CA: Chronicle Books LLC, 2008.
Schwake, Susan. Art Lab for Kids. Beverly, MA: Quarry Books, 2012.
Prince, Eileen S. Art is Fundamental. Chicago, IL: Zephyr Press, 2008.
Image Credits:
In Educators’ Guide: Abstract Collagraphs and Printing the World by Sara Norquay.
Image left: Detail: Andrea Itzek, Trochilidae, 2011-2012.
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© 2014 by the Esplanade Arts and Heritage
Centre, Medicine Hat, Alberta. The Esplanade
Arts and Heritage Centre retains sole copyright
to its contributions to this book.