I have always been told that I have a “graphic” way of image-making. One of my first professors said this to me in a way that felt like an insult, until I discovered printmaking. Relief printing in particular makes so much sense to the way I formulate an image or composition. The stark contrast between ink and paper is simple and straightforward. 

Relief printing has been a very democratic way for me to make prints in the last few years. I can carve a piece of linoleum or wood while on a hike, on a friend’s porch or in my front yard. I can then print the edition by hand on the floor in my living room, or on a sturdy kitchen table. During times when access to presses and studio equipment has been difficult, relief printing has allowed me to continue to document my little corner of the world. 

Since 2020, I have been gardening and each year I create a print as an ode to the year’s bounty. These humble prints have been a tool that I have used to keep my composition and editioning skills sharp, while making work that isn’t overly considered in the making of. I’m creating images just because I want to; not because they are part of a larger body of work. In this, they have become their own body of work. Simple prints of plants that mean something to me, often on handmade paper or printmaking paper stored up over the years. In this way, this work has become a record of my lived experiences – in both art studios and gardens.