Gallery at Oregon Art Supply

September/October 2023

Janet Brockway

"Floatation Devices" monotype- Janet Brockway

After completing art school and being active in the art world for a decade I purchased an etching press in 1993, and then life delayed its use for 30 years due to a successful retail store and raising a family. Three years ago an opportunity arose to unearth the press and open a print studio with ten other artists in Sisters Oregon, called Studio 6000. I pumped up the tires on the press and rolled it into its new space. In the time I was away from printmaking the rules have changed. For example, inks are no longer just oil based but now soy and water soluble. I feel a bit like a fish out of water.

As I swim through the new materials I find myself coming back to my practiced foundation of art making. My process is often just as simple as applying material, color, shape, form, and texture and then responding to it. With addition and subtraction, layering and sanding away, I find there is always an intentional composition and that the content reveals itself later than sooner. I observe things in my daily life that then surface in my work: the shadows on the landscape, the rectangle that represents a road or plot of land, a response to an emotional experience becomes a visual image.

I think sometimes I may be attacking the work like a painter instead of a printmaker. The other day I saw my ceramic work in my printmaking. I’m just getting to know how to keep the work alive and fluid. It has been wonderful to have uninterrupted time with an idea and to go through a complete process. I often think of the 30 years away from the press, and also welcome working in the studio and the opportunity to have a whole new way of thinking.

October 6th - Artist reception from 5:30pm - 7:30pm