Sharjah Printmaking Workshop
Surface Crush: Prints from Everyday Items
This Saturday, I will have a gelliplate and collagraph printmaking workshop at Sharjah Art Foundation. We’ll start with a tour of Leda Catunda’s exhibition at the Sharjah Art Museum, and draw inspiration from her work to produce our own textured and colorful prints by inking and pressing everyday items. More information and sign-ups here.
Private Linocut Printmaking Workshop in Dubai
I had another fun linocut workshop this week in Dubai. I have done these at homes for small groups, in offices for work socializing events, in galleries for interactive events, and as part of large art festivals. They’re a great creative outlet for anyone to try, with no experience necessary and unique results for every artist.
Collective Unconscious
I currently have my work up in the university gallery, and I’m proud to see my linocut illustrations alongside such talented graphic artists from all over the world. We have been working to put this show together since some of us met in Portugal as part of a printmaking biennial back in 2023. We were even lucky enough to host one of the artists as she was able to come to Dubai from Poland for the opening and speak about her creative process.
The theme of our show was memory, and the written statement for my contributions were as follows:
If we’re not careful, we lose our memories as they disappear on the horizon. They skew and warp as we get further from childhood; further from the adventures that get shinier right before they vanish forever. With some effort, we can return to those days of imagination, or at least recapture the feeling of it. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and linoleum shavings; The feeling of the tide pulling you in; The sound of the dodo calling. Climb out of the bottle and look inside.
RAK Arts x Khawla Gallery Linocut Workshop
It was a fun linocut workshop yesterday in Abu Dhabi, talking print with the fine folks at RAK Art and Khawla Art & Culture.
"Under The Oaks"
How do you make art to commemorate a historic work that has disappeared?
In 1876, Edward Mitchell Bannister became the first known Black artist to win a national award, for his landscape painting “Under the Oaks.” It was purchased and has since gone missing, with no photographic evidence of it. It is possibly his greatest work, and has now become his greatest mystery.
My carved linocut print depicts the back of an old framed canvas, signed “E.M. Bannister 76.” It will be exhibited at Rhode Island College’s Bannister Gallery this fall.
“Under The Oaks.” Linocut. 2025. 12x16”
Abu Dhabi Linocut Workshop
I’ll be giving a linocut workshop at Khawla Arts in Abu Dhabi on July 5th at 10am. Carve and print your own design within two hours! No experience necessary.
Tutto Passa
This linocut print illustrates a solitary figure fishing from a sailboat. The clouds above, waves on the surface, and fish below all move around him, but he is still and patient. "Tutto Passa," the Italian phrase meaning “Everything Passes,” is woven into the water below him. It reminds us to enjoy the moment, be persistent, and embrace the transient nature of our experiences.
Remy Boy Linocut
RAK Art Fest Linocut Stamp
The 13th edition of the Ras Al Khaimah Art Festival will be at Al Hamra Heritage Village from 31 January to 28 February 2025. If you visit, you can hand-print my linocuts onto your own postcard.
I began by visiting the emirate and photographing the museums, mountains, and historical village by the water. The focal point of my design is the fort, a recognizable landmark and where the festival will open next Friday. To the left is the vintage Land Rover displayed by the souk and visitor center. On the right, there are three figures following the path by the fort walls. The elderly figure represents the past, adult is the present, and the child is the future: a nod to the history of the site while maintaining an active role in the community today and beyond, with events like the art festival.
My carved blocks will be available around the village during the festival, with ink pads and postcards. Printing all five in order will complete the design to create your own linocut print.
