Melissa West

I began this set of prints a couple of years ago, during the uprisings of the Arab Spring. I was excited by the impulse of millions of people to rise up and speak out demanding a true role in government, or at least a recognition of their basic human rights and dignity. And I was struck by the images coming out of the region. They were very strong, raw, forceful, and it seemed that the same themes repeated in each country. There were the mass protest marches, the over-reaction of the police or armed forces and subsequent bouts of rocks versus bullets, and the angry mourning over the dead.

During the time it took to carve the first layer of color, however, most of the uprisings had turned sour. It seemed oppressive military dictatorships were overthrown only to be replaced by different (sometimes military, sometimes not) dictatorships. I suppose it was naive of me to think lovely participatory democracies would spring up pure and entire, like Athena from Zeus’ head, but one had hoped. Dismayed, I set the series aside.

And then there was Ferguson.

I watched the news and saw the angry mourners, the mass protests, and the over-reaction of the militarized police, and it dawned on me that I was seeing the same pattern yet again.

Martyr.

Protest.

Escalation

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This set of new prints will make their debut at Open Studios this weekend. My studio will be open for visitors both Saturday and Sunday, October 4 & 5, 11am – 5pm as part of Santa Cruz county’s Open Studios Art Tour. The address is 451 Tuttle Ave. in Watsonville, and I will be conducting printmaking demonstrations each day. Come on out and see some art!

January 1 will mark the 20th anniversary of my arrival in California. This New Yorker had trouble adjusting at first: roses in January? green hills in winter and brown hills in summer? It was a very different world than I was used to.

What made me finally fully appreciate my new state was a long slow bike ride. The 1999 AIDS Ride took me (and several thousand other bikers) through miles of rolling golden hills and steep valleys and dramatic coastline. I especially fell in love with the tawny hills – the shapes, the contours, the lonely oaks casting a circle of shade!

I’m not doing long-distance biking any more – I’ve replaced that with an even slower mode, long-distance hiking – but I still love exploring the small less-trafficked roads of California. And I’ve started a series of prints celebrating them.

I began with I-5. Not that the Interstate is small or has little traffic! But I love its wide horizontal views, and the odd human constructions that cross or follow it: the aqueducts and high-tension wires.

I-5, CA

Next up was a favorite turn of road in Napa, on Hwy 29. As you leave Napa, just after the road to Sonoma, the road curves to the left, and there is a vineyard and a line of eucalyptus trees in front of you. The land lies low beyond, so the trees are silhouetted against the sky creating a beautiful pattern of positive and negative space.

SR29, Napa

Closer to home, just north of Davenport, Big Basin State Park meets the ocean where Waddell Creek empties into the sea. Dramatic cliffs tower over the highway, and there are usually para-surfers and hang gliders taking advantage of the upward wind drafts. It’s big and bold and beautiful and kind of quintessentially California. It’s also one of our favorite beaches for walks and treasure hunting.

SR1, Waddell Creek

The newest highway print celebrates my new home town of Watsonville. If the midwest is the breadbasket of the world, Watsonville is the berry basket. Field upon field of strawberries, raspberries, and boysenberries climb the hills that surround the valley. Often the berries are protected from the intense sun by large tents, similar in shape to old Quonset huts. And rows of corn or sunflowers act as windbreaks for the berries and for the workers who labor under the tents.

SR129, Watsonville

These prints are small, 4″ by 6″, and done quickly. I want the cumulative effect to be that of a sketchbook – quick notes of a specific place and time. I’m looking forward to my next road trip and the chance to make another California print.

Our Lady of the Redwoods is a print I was hoping to have ready for the Open Studios Art Tour last year – but here it is, ready for this year’s Open Studios instead. I like the idea of local deities who live in the rocks and rivers and everyday places, and combined that idea with an image of the virgin and child.

The moment of truth, pulling the paper off the block for the first time.

So far so good…

And hooray! The print is just fine. 🙂

This will be my selection at the Open Studios Preview Exhibit at the Santa Cruz Art League. I bought the frame today; now I just have to let it dry and put it all together.

Our Lady of the Redwoods is 24″ tall by 5″ wide. I’m finishing up a companion piece, Our Lady of the Slough, and hope to have that done for Open Studios as well.

Open Studios will be held on October 4 & 5 and October 18 & 19. I’m in Watsonville now; come see my new digs!

Part of the excitement of buying a new house has been setting up my new studio. The garage is mine, all mine! And after several months of unpacking boxes and rearranging things to make it all work (more or less), I once again have a functioning print studio. Hooray!

I took several days off work last week to celebrate and catch up on some prints. I haven’t really done anything artistically-speaking for almost a year, and I was itching to get at it. Here’s a video of me pulling a print, as I finish up some editions.

Some notes as to what’s going on here.
1. I listen to loud music when printing. It keeps me from being distracted by random noise.
2. I work with the garage door open because the light is a kazillion times better that way. And I can work that way year-round, since this is California
3. I keep a rag in my back pocket for small clean-ups as I go along.
4. There is a pile of pre-cut paper in a box at the end of the press.
5. The piece of mat board keeps the felt blankets from pushing into the cuts on the blocks, so the edges of the image stay crisp.
6. That’s a giant baseball glove on the back of my t-shirt.
7. I love my press!
8. I’ve switched to using a drying rack instead of lines strung across the ceiling, due to the layout of the space. It’s placed close to the open door to maximize air circulation.
9. The second song is Yell Fire by Michael Franti & Spearhead. The first bit of music? Don’t know – I have a lot of random stuff on my iPad.

I have lots of ideas of how to continue to improve my work space, but for now I’m just happy to be back to work again.