Artist couple Kayla Mohammadi and John Walker came for a ten day project together this May and June. They each worked separately on their prints, John making series of monoprints and Kayla making monotypes and a carborundum aquatint and solar plate etching. It was a very focused and productive project–and it was fun having two artists at once!
Kayla was simultaneously making a group of monotypes from cut up pieces of vellum as well as working on an edition print. She produced a total of fourteen monotypes, all with various titles, size ranging from 13 1/2” x 15 7/8” to 25” x 32 1/2” and priced at $800-$1200. Kayla’s monotypes have an immediate quality to them, however they are carefully and slowly composed–giving her pieces energy yet a sense of balance. Kayla’s solar plate etching and carborundum aquatint is titled Persian Miniature, printed in an edition of 10, size 27” x 22 1/4” and $1100 each. She also created a piece for our 2012 Stairway to Heaven Series entitled Blue Pyramid, at 12” x 12” and $500 each.
Matisse’s Window
watercolor monotype with hand painting
19” x 15 1/2”
$800
watercolor monotype with hand painting
19” x 15 1/2”
$800
Kayla’s colorful palate at her workspace
Our intern for the month of June, Laura Grossett, tearing down one of John’s completed prints. We were lucky to have her during the project to help us keep up with two artists!
Kayla is making a one of her seven plates for her edition print. She is painting carborundum grit–a substance made of granulated steel and silica mixed with gel medium–onto a piece of plexi. Wherever the grit is painted becomes the image which will hold ink when the plate is wiped.
The final print!
Persian Miniature
solar plate etching with carborundum aquatint
27” x 22 1/4”
edition of 10
$1100
Persian Miniature
solar plate etching with carborundum aquatint
27” x 22 1/4”
edition of 10
$1100
Before John’s arrival, we made solar plates of a selection of his famed Beano cards. (A few years ago John discovered piles of Beano cards in his studio left over from the prohibition era that he made into beautiful little paintings. The name was changed from “Bingo” to “Beano” because the game Bingo had been an outlawed as a form of gambling. A simple name change for the game created a loop hole in the law.) Using the Beano card solar plates in a variety of colors with landscapes layered over them, John created thirty five intimate monoprints titled Pearl Lake #1-35, sized 16 x 13 inches and $2500 each.
The process of printmaking allowed John to play with scale and color in terms of the Beano card background. In the picture above John is working on a monoprint for his larger series of Beano monoprints titled Colorado Cross #1-#7, size 27 1/2” x 22” and priced at $6500 each. John also made a solar plate edition print for the 2012 Stairway to Heaven Series titled Hannibal, size 12” x 12” and $1000 each.
Colorado Cross #6
monoprint
27 1/2” x 22”
$6500
monoprint
27 1/2” x 22”
$6500
Sue preparing the press for printing and John deciding which vellum to use next
Pearl Lake #18
monoprint
16” x 13”
$2400
monoprint
16” x 13”
$2400
Painting away in the artists’ workspace
We had a great time with John and Kayla and can’t wait to share their work with you–please click here to see all the work from Kayla Mohammadi’s project–and click here to see all of the prints from John Walker’s project.
Oehme Graphics will be heading to ART Santa Fe this July for our first exhibition at the fair. We are featuring a selection of prints in all shades of RED as well as prints from recent projects.
Please check out the fair website for more information: http://www.artsantafe.com/
Also, contact the shop with any questions or to place an order:
Phone: 970.870.6609
Email: sue@oehmegraphics.com