Anna Hepler

Plexigravure 001 by Anna Hepler

Just gorgeous.

Winged Figurehead

Tlingit canoe with winged figurehead, Alaska, ca. 1903. Taken by F. H. Nowell

Ward Zwart

Planet (Pink and Gray)

James Brown, Planet (Pink and Grey) VI, 2006, oil and pencil on linen. via The Paris Review.

Hanna Keefe: Necklaces That Will Make Off With Your Heart

So good so good (!!!). See more here.

Interview: Bryan Nash Gill

Bryan Nash Gill, Hemlock 82 1/2, 52" x 39", relief print on Okawara paper, 2008

I came across Bryan Nash Gill’s work a few months ago on Cold Splinters, and I’m completely taken with it. Using a laborious rubbing technique, Gill makes large-scale relief prints of the cross-sections of trees. The results are gorgeous.  Gill also makes sculptures and installations, using found objects such as tree branches and orange peels as well as bronze, copper, aluminum, and other unwieldy material. Writing in 2002 for Sculpture Magazine, Patricia Rosoff summarizes 1:   

“Gill works in wood, gathered in winter forays and sledded back to his studio over snow-covered ground. He takes apart these logs, branches-even whole trees-and then puts them back together in the studio, employing any process that suits: splitting them, slicing them, carving back into them, stripping them of their bark, flattening the bark, even casting elements in bronze. “

Bryan Nash Gill's art pulls viewers toward a closer connection with the outdoors, the woods and the earth. Which is perhaps not surprising, given that, in addition to making art, Gill is a farmer, a  woodsman, a hunter and a naturalist2. I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to interview him:

You often use found objects in your work. Are you always on the lookout for material? What kinds of things tend to catch your eye?

I find a lot of my materials by accident. The sense of discovery is exciting that way and gives the objects bigger meaning. I am always looking. There is the occasional dumpster dive and always walks in the woods which are full of fascinating stuff. I also have friends bring me stuff, which I may use in my work. I generally like objects that have inherent beauty; the form, the color, texture. Sometimes, these objects are tossed or placed on a shelf and may stay there for years until they find a place within one of my works.

Can you tell me about one thing that you’ve recently collected—what is it and why did it catch your eye? What kinds of things do friends know to bring you?

Friends bring me wasp nests, bones, found wood, old tools... The last thing I found was a Ceropia moth that had dropped out of the sky in our back yard.  One of the largest and most beautiful moths I have ever seen.

Sculpture Print, 44" x 43 1/2", relief print on cotton sheet, 2010

What are your favorite materials?

 Wood, copper and bronze.

Sulfur Shelf, 7" x 12.5" x 4 1/2", bronze, 2002

 
I really love the prints you make using sections of trees. When did you first start making prints this way? How did the idea come about?

I started making these woodcuts in 1993. I cut wood to heat my home and studio. Looking at split wood all day long gave me the idea to print logs. These prints are called relief prints or wood engravings because I am printing the end grains of wood. Traditional woodcuts are made from the longitudinal grain of wood.

Gill creating a woodcut print

I read that you grew up on a farm, raising vegetables and livestock, and that this turned you on to art at a young age. Can you talk about this? Do you still raise animals or garden?

Yes, my initial fascination with art came about when I was [very young], working with my hands on the farm.

My wife and I have a working farm and raise all the veggies and chicken for the summer months. I am in the process of building a root cellar for winter storage.  We have started our own farm share / co-op  with other farms in the area. We will be sharing with a select few customers: veggies, goat cheese,and fruit, along with local chicken, ducks, geese,quail and rabbit.