Liz Chalfin

I create in bursts of concentrated energy, letting the brush dipped in sumi ink or the etching needle on a metal plate move in sweeping gestures and staccato marks across the page. This mark making is intuitive and is often in response to something I have experienced—a particular place, encounter or event. Once I turn the drawings into printing plates, I print them singularly or in layers, on papers of differing weights and tones.  I coat some in beeswax to make them translucent.  It is at this point that I begin to compose through layering and collage. Seemingly random marks become evocations of landscapes, weather events, hinted at figures or loose architectural renderings.

My art practice is a collaboration between my creative impulses and the printmaking techniques I love so much. I don’t think I could express myself the way I want without the intervention of the etched plate, or the digitally manipulated drawing. At each point in a process there is an opportunity for creative intervention, and I exploit the way an image transforms through each stage. It requires me to rethink the formal aspects of the image many times over and keeps creating opportunities for me to imbue the image with emotional weight and meaning. 

My studio practice is grounded in my desire to be mindful of the resources I consume in making my art. Therefore, I strive to reuse and upcycle as much as I can. This might mean using old printing plates in new ways, excavating old prints and turning them into something fresh, and working within the limitations of the papers and inks I’ve scavenged over the years. These parameters both challenge and free me.

CV

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