Artist Answering Life’s Questions With
EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY BY HEATHER N RUSSELL-SIMMONS ART PHOTOGRAPHY BY MEL FLECK
Mel Fleck was the director of a residential program for autistic children in Winter Park, Florida, when his wife, Jan, decided to enroll in a six-week course in etching. “I thought it would be nice to spend the time together in the evening and learn how to etch, so I joined the class, too,” he said. That was in 1986, and a few years later they were making art together and traveling across the United States selling their artwork. Fleck creates original compositions of intaglio etchings that focus primarily on ancient Egyptian beliefs. “Egyptian mythology is very rational to me,” Fleck said. “People in all cultures grapple with the same ideas and relationships, the same questions about this life and the afterlife.” With a specific idea in mind, Fleck asks himself, “How would an ancient Egyptian consider this idea? Which deities, what symbols, what figures relate to this concept?” Based on his study of how Egyptian culture used color, design, and dimension, Fleck transforms his answers into etchings representing scenes of ancient beliefs, aspirations, and ways of life. Unlike other printmaking techniques, intaglio designs are printed from the recessed areas of a metal plate pulled through an etching press. Fleck begins the process with pencil sketches, then draws the final design onto a zinc plate coated with an acid-resistant material called asphaltum. By carving away the asphaltum, Fleck exposes what will be the darkest lines in the final image. The plate is then submerged in a diluted nitric acid bath, causing the acid to etch lines into the exposed areas. Deeper etches hold more ink, resulting in lines of varying darkness in the final image. Thus, there is a separate acid bath for every shade of line seen in the final print.
With the etching complete, Fleck uses a tarlatan cloth to ink the plate by hand. The inked plate is placed on the press bed, where intense pressure transfers the ink from the plate onto the etching paper. Each etching is then handpainted using acrylic washes, then individually signed and numbered. Edition sizes are limited to 250, or less. Fleck 3 The artist. includes typed information sheets explaining the symbolism depicted in his work. With no formal art training, Fleck says learning to etch was easier for him than for his wife. “Jan had drawn her whole life, and had to un-learn things to create Egyptianstyled artwork,” he said. “I just started drawing in that style, almost from the beginning.” Based in Taylorsville, Kentucky, Fleck spends about 30 weekends a year traveling to outdoor art festivals across the U.S. “Etching is an art form that is slowly fading away,” Fleck said. “I used to see around ten etchers at shows. Now, I might see half that number.” Before moving to Taylorsville, Fleck and his wife spent 14 years in Louisville, Kentucky. “We exhibited in the St. James Court Art Fair in the mid-1990s and fell in love with the city, so we moved there in 2000,” he said. “This October, I’ll be back at St. James, selling my artwork and teaching people about both etching and ancient Egypt.” *The St. James Court Art Fair is September 30—October 2, 2016 in Louisville, Ky. www.kentuckyhomesandgardens.com
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