David Miller

Processing the Ordinary: Woodcuts, Monotypes and Monoprints

 

I am interested in the art of the ordinary.  I believe that any thing can be made interesting by a focus on color, texture and line.  My work is an attempt to showcase less noticed items of our world.  Recreating the direct likeness of an object or seeking the “beautiful” does not hold my attention. 

 Printmaking is a process intensive form of art; therefore, process always stands between the printmaker and the finished work.  Process often results in unexpected turns during printmaking.  This can be viewed as a blessing or a curse.  In other words, the artist can either seek to master every aspect of process variation or, alternatively, the artist can accept the random variation as a welcome contribution to the work.  Rather than trying to reign in the work to my preconceived expectations, I allow the process to be my “unconscious self”.

 My woodcuts often push the limits of the fine Japanese papers on which I print.  Ink and ink modifiers are heaped on the papers in many layers sometimes resulting in prints that take on the look of an oil painting.  The two dimensional print takes on a third sculptural dimension.  The gritty feeling of my prints and the built up ink formed from the deep relief of the plate provide a landscape for texture to develop.