A Fine Day for Steamrollering

Two days left before the Steamroller Printing Event. The weather forecast for Saturday calls for 100% chance of precipitation, and temperatures ranging from 2 to 11 degrees celsius. Not exactly the sunny skies that greeted Icarus on the day of his first and final flight.

Noémie, Deborah, Rolande, Talleen and René at Atelier Circulaire

In preparation for this printing event, a group of five artists and myself have been carving a collective linoleum plate, inspired by The Fall of Icarus (see previous 3 blogs). The past couple of weeks have been full of exciting work sessions with my fellow artists.

Assembling our linoleum plates

Each artist engraved two linoleum plates, sections of our main design. The day we put our pieces together was thrilling. The ensemble of our work took on a life of its own, a very intricate, expressive and unique life. Put into the context of the whole piece, we were better equipped to take decisions regarding our individual plates. We worked on transitions between sections, and fed off each other’s work.

René carves his plate according to Deborah’s, below his


Noémie makes adjustments

There were several other sessions of collaborative work: printing proofs of all our plates, assembling our proofs and making further adjustments on our plates, gluing our linoleum to a 4 by 7 foot piece of plywood, and making a hand printed copy of our piece on Japanese paper. I had planned on hand printing a copy by myself and was happy to get lending hands not only from Rolande, but from Hélène and Mary, who are not working on this project. They couldn’t resist the allure of printing with a spoon, which with the size of our plate, is a real workout!

Rolande, Hélène and Talleen handprinting with spoons

I am humbled by the implication and enthusiasm of the artists I have the pleasure of working with. Although I have been sharing a studio with these artists for years, working on this project has allowed me to witness firsthand their creative process. I gained insight into how they perceive and make visual decisions.

Inking our plate

It may rain on Saturday but this continues to be a bright experience for me. As we arrange final details such as packing and transporting Icarus to his destination, I have the distinct feeling I am preparing for a trip. I will pack Icarus’s suitcase, like I used to pack my son’s when he was a baby: inking roller, masking tape, scissors, latex gloves, rags and talcum powder to wipe off ink stains. Thank God I don’t need to haul diapers! Although with the weather forecast being what it is, I may take some Tylenol in case Icarus catches a cold.

Talleen Hacikyan

N.B. Due to rain, the Steamroller Printing Event has been Postponed to May

TGIF for Icarus at Atelier Circulaire

TGIF

Traditionally Fridays have always been animated at Atelier Circulaire. The studio comes alive as artists work, socialize and congregate around presses and the kitchen table. The phone rings off the hook and visitors flow in and out the door. The atmosphere is nothing short of electric.

Deborah inking my linoleum plate

Last Friday was no exception. Deborah, Michel, Noémie and I worked on our Icarus print, a collaborative project involving six artists.

Michel’s plate on the Potter Proof Press

Michel and I made test proofs of our linoleum plates. Deborah adjusted the pressure of her 1910 Potter Proof Press, designed to proof handset type for corrections before the final printing of a newspaper. It was a treat to have Deborah ink my plate and print it on this handsome machine. I was relieved to discover that I’ll be able to work with the bubbly texture that resulted from leaving my plate in the oven too long (see previous blog, Icarus Flew In My Oven).

Michel’s first proof

Michel carved a plate with a section of the sun, and another with a fragment of thigh and buttock. True to his experimental nature, for the sun he created a radiating array dots with a drill, playing with different bits. On his other plate Michel juxtaposed the body with a linear geometric treatment.

Our printing was followed by a carving session. I worked with Deborah, sharing her sophisticated tools, which she gets sharpened professionally at l’Aiguiserie on Papineau. At ease with her tools, carving fluidly, Deborah lets her imagination flow freely. I witnessed the fine balance between preplanned composition and improvised textural development on her plate.

After Deborah and I treated ourselves to a delectable Chinese lunch at Luck Hop Foo on St. Laurent, we got back to work at our table, where Noémie joined us. She has the second half of Michel’s sun and used the electric drill to continue Michel’s dots on her plate.

Noémie

Noémie didn’t need a power tool for speed. When she switched to hand tools, her image progressed rapidly, revealing her uniquely graphic style. As Deborah, Noémie and I carved our plates side by side, it felt like we were participating in a quilting bee. Our easy, jovial chit-chat was punctuated by spells of concentrated silence, as each of us embellished pieces of what will become one image.

Collective carving session

It is a privilege working with the other artists in my group. I threw myself into this project without much premeditated thought. I was drawn to the idea of having a big piece printed under a steamroller, in front of a live audience. I didn’t realize that the process of getting to that point would be so rich and rewarding.

Talleen Hacikyan

Icarus Flew in My Oven

For Concordia’s Steamrolling Print Event, on April 23, I am engraving two linoleum plates that will become part of a collective print, inspired by the Greek myth, The Fall of Icarus. To create our hero, I lay down on a large piece of paper, my co-artists traced my silhouette, we refined the sketch freehand, which we transferred to an ensemble of twelve linoleum plates, and randomly distributed them amongst the six artists working on the project. (See previous blog A Steamroller, Facebook and The Fall of Icarus.)

Sketch

A writer, on commenting about working autobiography into fiction, told me, “Once the personal experience blends into a story, it becomes something else.” I am reminded of this phenomenon as I work on this project. The figure on our plates is no longer me; it is Icarus, imprisoned in the palace of Crete with his father Daedalus; Icarus flying giddy with his new-found freedom, thanks to the wings of feathers and wax, crafted by Daedalus; it is Icarus, forgetting his father’s warning not to fly too close to the sun; it is Icarus plunging fatally to the sea. Perhaps because I have a teenage son, Icarus feels real. I can relate to his desire for independence, his forgetfulness while pursuing his thrilling adventure, and his vulnerability.

Carving my plate at Atelier Circulaire

I am working on one plate that has a section of an arm, and another with part of a leg. I opted for a playful approach to my subject. I tattooed Icarus, with motifs, that have a marine feel to them. I imagine Icarus and his father imprisoned in a palace tower with a little window with a view of the sea. Seabirds would fly to the window ledge and Daedalus would pluck and collect feathers, some of which would be fashioned into wings, some of which would be used as quills to tattoo his son!

My linoleum plate in progress

It has been an emotional ride working on Icarus’s arm, ranging from euphoria, to utter frustration. Everything was running smoothly. The pleasure of the flight took over me. I was heating my linoleum plate for a minute at a time in my oven to soften it and make it easier to engrave. I popped Icarus into the 200 degree oven for one last time. I was ecstatic--I had carved a mesmerizing mermaid on his arm. I got distracted, let him overheat, dashed to the kitchen in a fury, flung open the oven door, only to discover that my background had bubbled. I plunged into oblivion.

Inking my plate

As my art mimics Icarus’s fate, there are only two possible outcomes: success or disaster. The only way to find out is to do a test print and find out. Stay tuned to find out what happens to Icarus’s arms, legs, torso, head, lips, toes, psyche…

Talleen Hacikyan