OJAI MAGAZINE | SPRING 2021
Nestled in downtown ojai, i wandered through ojai studio artist linda taylor’s backyard garden and caught glimpses of dark silhouettes darting under distant bushes with the sound of occasional quacks cackling from afar. her outdoor patio was set with working tables and a mannequin dress form collaged with printed-paper. Linda greeted me fully aproned and ready to create as we entered her bright and airy printmaking studio. She worked on a print in progress while we chatted. Placed on top of a large table was a hardboard-wood line carving (called “a plate” in printmaking lingo) of “Sartousse.” He was an interesting gentleman who used to play in drum circles on Sunday afternoons in Libbey Park. Artist Marta Nelson invited him to model at the Ojai Art Center for a figure drawing session and he came with his drums and played for the artists while he was modeling. Linda was making a collagraph print of him using two plates. Swirling and pressing a mix of brown and purple ink with a squeegee, she pressed the ink into the cut grooves of the varnished board. “I like taking a print and changing it to make each work a unique monoprint. One collagraph is made of collage pieces printed in layers for textures and tones,’’ explained Linda. Chin collé is another printmaking method she loves to explore where different papers are attached with glue during the printing process. After rubbing the ink into the surface, she used a tarlatan cloth to wipe off
the excess ink to reveal the lines of the portrait. Then she carried the board across her studio to a large etching press and placed a sheet of Japanese paper, a pad and blanket on top of the panel. Going to the large handle, like the helm of a ship, with great enthusiasm and strength, she turned the handle as we watched the blanketed art in-the-making pass under a large steel roller that presses the paper into the inked plate to transfer the design onto the paper. This was the first plate pull, and she will press
“The arts exercise parts of the brain that traditional academics do not. Creative thinking is a necessary skill in the 21st Century.” another plate with texture and color as she builds up her layers for a finished piece. Walking around her studio as she worked and talked, I noticed a wall of a variety of handmade masks, a globe, bundle of feathers, bird nests, stacks of all different types of drawings of figures, animals, knots and flora. Throughout her studio were several areas of works in progress, which she explains, “ allows her mental space for contemplation, rather than working on one image at a time.” And although it may sound chaotic, there was a very organized sense of clarity and purpose throughout her studio. I was quite amazed by her carving section with an array of different tools as she demonstrated the intricate technique of carving the groove from a line drawing onto a wooden board for a woodcut print.
d by Life
55
Above: Taylor carving a drawn image into a wood “plate”.
Alongside the same table was a tall stack of drawings on tracing paper. Having the translucent papers on top of each other helps her see how she will do her layering in the printing process. The top drawing was of a man and woman looking at each other from upside down with the title “Never and Always,” inspired by a book purchased during a trip to Palau, in Micronesia, where Linda demonstrated and taught printmaking at the Palau Arts Festival. I noticed a recurring theme in her works with feathers and nests and I was curious about her fascination with our feathered friends. Her father was in the Navy and they moved often, about every two years. In her early childhood, as she stood waiting for the school bus in Tennessee, she watched birds on the Mississippi Flyway fly overhead and she always wondered where they were going. To say the least, she is enamored with the life of birds, how they build their beautiful nests with only beaks and feet, and has been a bird watcher since seventh grade. With her family on the constant move around the globe, including to
story and photos by VALERIE FREEMAN
Ojai artist LindaTaylor intertwines drawing with printmaking.