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Being an Artist
There are those among us for whom life is an adventure, an exploration, a journey into the unknown. Such an adventure can involve physical space, as in mountain climbing, traveling or facing new experiences. For some the adventure is more an inward journey. A journey of ideas into little explored regions of the human consciousness. Such is the artistic quest, an examination in visual thought of the world and the imagination. One attempts to enter the depths of what it is to be and be human. Attaining and communicating visual knowledge. A worthwhile journey for the artist and the viewer as well.
As A Printmaker
To me to be an artist printmaker is to be in love with the graphic medium. Woodcut and etching have been my field of creation. Both these forms of prints exude a visual clarity and depth of feeling. We, in viewing
them, are tied into the visual world at an essential level, an affirmation of our own life's journey. Both woodcut and etching are transformative mediums that force the artist and print viewer to see and think of the world in a specific, graphic way. One type of transformation takes place as the artist works out the
image on the etching plate or woodcut block. The working must be indirect,
essentially a drawing is changed into a print. One can think of a Durer drawing which is not the same as a Durer woodcut, or a Rembrandt drawing which is not the same as his etching. The image can be only revealed when a print is pulled. Even for an experienced printmaker, this can be a truly magical transformation. Another part of this transformation is that one must think in terms of the medium in viewing the outside world. A print necessitates a simplicity, the extracting of the essential, form, line, light and shadow. If done well this gives clarity to the phantasmagoria of viewing the world, and brings us to its visual essence, which is so satisfying, the world seen afresh. Beyond the lovely feeling of visual pleasure, if we are not cynics, we attain and confirm meaning to our being. Our world is larger, more interesting, of deeper feeling and yes even more beautiful.
—Richard Sloat
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