Printmaking has been an integral part of Squeak Carnwath's oeuvre since 1983. Her first collaboration was with Teaberry Press in Oakland, CA. Since then, Carnwath has worked at fifteen different fine art presses scattered across the country and has produced eighty-one separate editions. A visit to an atelier affords Carnwath, primarily a painter, the opportunity to work in a medium other than paint with the technical assistance of the master printer and the use of the presses and equipment not available in her own studio. Exhibited here are nineteen works spanning twenty-three years representing eight fine art presses, incorporating seventeen specific printmaking techniques.
When asked to organize this show I was interested in "mixing it up". I find the variations in printmaking intriguing - how each fine art press interprets the medium and has its own expertise. My intent is to highlight these subtleties by showing the work from different fine art presses together in one place, unframed, side by side, not chronologically or grouped by press.
For instance Experimental Workshop, formerly in San Francisco, is particularly known for its ability to do woodcuts. Four are in this show: Striped Bird, A Call, Lemon and Sorry Bird (for India). In each the thick layers of oil based ink, saturating the paper, is evident. Fine lines and detailed text in Carnwath's own handwriting executed using drypoint can be seen in Be Happy published by Paulson Press in Berkeley, CA. Paulson Press also excels in layering multiple colors. In fact, all of Carnwath's editions done at Paulson Press incorporate aquatint, an etching technique that allows the plate to hold a solid color over a large area. Island Press in St. Louis, MO, is skilled in making large scale collagraphs by adding texture into the plate and building up the surface, which creates a more painterly effect generating what look like brush marks as seen around the circumference of the records along the top of Russian Etruscan. The black and white etching, Bend, done at Magnolia Editions in Oakland, CA, combines etching and drypoint creating lines with varying thickness and intensity, and a shading and smudging reminiscent of a charcoal drawing. Other variations in printmaking are achieved by the color and texture of the paper chosen as with the one-color lithograph, Questions, printed on tan Rives BFK paper by Tamarind Institute in Albuquerque, NM. The total number of plates or blocks used also influences the outcome. Whether the ink is printed wet on wet or wet on dry from pull to pull offers yet another nuance in the end result. The combinations are endless. Finally, the chop mark, usually located in the lower right corner, is unique to each publisher and identifies where the print was made. In addition to the presses mentioned, work from Creative Growth in Oakland, CA and Tandem Press in Madison, WI is included in this exhibition.
Organizing this show has been a collaborative process. My gratitude goes to Tom Druecker and Margaret Simpson for welcoming me and to Squeak Carnwath for allowing each of these prints out of her archives.
Tracy Bosworth Bosche