I have always been a painter but as I reflect on 2020 and my studio practice it occurs to me that I only painted, from start to finish, one single painting on canvas. I didn't stop painting of course I worked on probably a dozen or more murals/billboard paintings, and small studies/sketches in my sketchbook, as well as work on watercolor paper. My focus instead this year was to find a way that I could share my artwork with a larger audience. Since there wasn't anyone visiting my studio, or shows to apply to I switched my focus to something I always wanted to do; printmaking. I began carving rubber stamps, learning to screen print and putting together a zine.
The first rubber stamp I made in 2020 "Sanctions Kill". Since I don't have a lot of experience making prints I decided to take a DIY approach with just a single color. These were made in the basement of my building where I have a small workshop, not usually used for art-making purposes. But back in April I was hesitant to go to my art studio that I share with another person. There was a lot we didn't know about the virus in NYC and it seemed like a bad idea to leave the neighborhood.
My second print. I decided I was ready to start layering color. All of these ideas for prints started out as little sketches in my notebook. This "Peace Root" sticker was hand carved from a rubber stamp. I probably printed 100+ of these putting them up on the street or sending them to friends. Each one is different.
2 Butterfly prints, the collection of which is named Kaleidoscope, which is what a group of butterflies is defined as. I spent so much time walking outside in nature this summer and I started to notice a beautiful butterfly that lives in this part of New York called the Eastern Tiger Swallowtail, which inspired the butterfly I printed. I probably printed 100 of these as well, some on paper and some as stickers. I hung them up on my walks throughout the summer or mailed to friends as well. I learned a lot about printing in the making of these butterflies.
One of the reasons I wanted to start making prints was in order to incorporate them into the collage paintings that I have been making. These collages usually consist of photographs, painting, sewing, and drawing so it felt natural to add a print-making element to their construction. These images are in process and you can see them as finished pieces of my website, Tomhemmerickart.com
These fist prints were made in June and July in response to the racial justice protests that were happening all over the country. I like using simple images and symbols. Their power is unique and as the protests and artwork were springing up around the streets in NYC I kept seeing the raised fist. I wanted to make my own version of this symbol.
more butterflies
"Black Flowers"
"Blue Flowers"
These are two finished collage pieces that you can find on my website. They are approx 14 x 11 inches and are cut up from one piece of paper and sewn back together. The flowers are 3 different sized rubber stamp flowers that I hand carved. I like to think of them as small sections of some kind of strange wall paper. But I think they would look awesome floating in a white frame.
A snowflake print I made to send to friends and family for the holidays. One main reason I wanted to start making prints is because of Covid I haven't seen my friends or family in months, in some cases over a year. I wanted to make work that I could share with people. Sometimes it seems I make a painting in my studio and I post an image of it on social media but then it just sits in my studio where it was made and lives there and I never really get to SHARE it with people.
Pages of my zine laid out for consideration including xeroxes of photographs, drawings, and screenprints.
I am currently in the process of finalizing my zine. It has been all year in the making and I am excited to be in the final stages of binding the pages together and preparing to send it out into the world. The following images are all going to be featured pages.
The three flower screenprints were the first ones I attempted. Screenprinting is not easy at first and it takes an entirely different skill set than painting but by the time I started in on the star print I was getting the hang of how to handle the squeegee and load the screen. The flowers were made by painting the screen filler onto the screen directly as well as the stars. However in more recent prints I learned how to use the screen drawing fluid and then apply the screen filler afterwards.
a star print for the zine
Mask screenprint
I knew I needed to make a print of a mask in order to memorialize or "date" this process and the pandemic we have all been dealing with. The image of a mask hanging up, ready to be worn is something that we have all been seeing inside our homes. We see each other on the street or in the store in masks. We see the masks as garbage on the street. But when we come home we hang up our masks and we look in the mirror and see our faces. I am looking forward to the time we can hang up our masks for good
a collection of Peace Symbol prints drying in the studio
The "Peace Dove" is a symbol I have been using for a few years and these screenprints are another image that will be featured in the zine that I am in the process of finishing. This print was made using screen drawing fluid and applying the screen filler after the drawing fluid was dry.
