HGT Magazine #99 May/June 2019

Printmaking
Inspirations
By Jamie McDonald
Remember printmaking as a kid by carving
shapes in a potato and using it with paint
to print? Well, this past March, All Island Art
Show adjudicator, Samantha Welsh, offered
a printmaking workshop at the Haida Heritage
Centre in Skidegate. It was an amazing
opportunity to learn more about this aspect
of fibre art . The workshop filled up quickly
with twenty participants - all eager to create.
Printmaking, for those of you who may not
know, is the process of creating artworks by
printing on paper or fabric. There
are four main categories of
printmaking: relief,
intaglio, lithogra
phy, and screen
printing. We focussed
on relief printing on
lino blocks, which is
printing from a raised
surface where the nonimage
areas have been
cut away. It was clear to
see what inspired people from what they
printed: crab, octopus, bull kelp,
ocean landscapes,
mussels, fish
scales…the essence
of Haida
Gwaii was represented
in those
prints.
What I most loved
about this workshop
was that, regardless of
your level of creativity or
ability in the arts, everyone
was able to produce
something beautiful, giving
many a feeling of satisfaction and accomplishment.
I am now using these
blocks to create tote bags to help
with the efforts to reduce the consumption
of plastic on island and to
fundraise for arts activities for youth.
These bags are for sale at Isabel
Creek. I was also inspired to create a
Haida Gwaii prayer flag, which will be
available throughout the summer at
the farmers’ market on Saturdays in
Queen Charlotte.
10 HG