Presenting our Kindred Artists of the Week series! We are big fans of all the artists we work with and we are so excited to share their stories!

Who are you?

My name is Macy Possenti and I am a weekend printmaking warrior. During the week, I am a Marketing Director with a federal agency, but when the weekend comes along, it’s full on printmaking mode.

I grew up in Interior Alaska, with a family that has always made the most of their lives in the last frontier. Whether it was camping or fishing, berry picking or boating, there was always an adventure in store. I’ve taken these visions of my childhood, as well as new ones I’ve made along the way, and simplified them to their most basic form. Maybe it’s the fact that I enjoy minimalism, or maybe it’s the fact that I am horrible at drawing, but I find comfort in reducing an image or an idea into a completely raw and fundamental form, which is why I find printmaking so appealing.

What do you do?

I currently focus my art towards screen printing, with a side of lino block printing. For screen printing, I start by hand drawing my ideas and transferring them to the computer for manipulation. Once ready, the images are transferred to the screens to be hand-printed, one by one, onto various mediums. When I first started out, I printed on hand-sewn linen towels. I’ve since grown to print greeting cards, apparel, and accessories. One thing that is so great about screen printing, is that you are practically unlimited on what you can print!

While I haven’t done much lino block printing as of late, it is still my passion. Breaking down an image into color blocks, then moving a sharp blade through warm linoleum, layer by layer, color by color to ultimately create your very own, unique image from hand is completely satisfying.

Who/what inspires you?

The simple things in an Alaskan life inspire me. I grow tired of seeing the state’s superlatives (no offense to the bull moose, eagles, and bears of the world) plastered on every t shirt, coffee mug, or postcard. I want the little guy to win for a change. That’s why you’ll see my prints focusing on the cow moose or the bare birch branches; they deserve a time to shine as well.

What is your favorite moment in the process?

The repetitive action of running the squeegee across the screen is by far my favorite part of the screen printing process; it’s almost meditative. When printing batches of cards that can run into the thousands, repeating the same motion over and over again gets you out of your own head and allows you to focus on what it is you're doing. 

What is a trick of your trade or a piece of advice for artists in your medium?

This is less of a piece of advice for fellow artists and more for buyers: A printmaker’s print is an original. One major misconception within the retail world is that printmakers’ work are replicas since we are able to print multiples of the same image. This just isn't true; a printmaker’s work is an original. Each print is unique, as it is run through the press or the screen individually, even to make a high-count edition. Most print blocks and screens have a lifespan on them, so once a print run is over, that’s the end. 

What is next?

I’m ready for some more inspiration! My agenda for this summer includes trips to the Brooks Range where I can sketch mountain peaks, taiga, and tundra. And I can’t wait to get down to the coast for some saltwater fishing.

 

"I’ve always looked outside with wonder, and I do my best to represent my love for the wilderness in my pieces. "

Presenting our Kindred Artist of the Week series! We are big fans of all the artists we work with and we are so excited to share their stories!

Who are you?

Hey! My name is Koby Etzwiler, I'm a 19 (almost 20) year old kid from Alaska who just loves to create. I’ve lived in Homer nearly my whole life, but I’m currently going to college down in Oregon. I’m working towards getting my Bachelors Degree in Outdoor Recreation Management. Basically, I want to be able to work in the National Parks. I love to hike, explore, fish, hunt, and just generally be out in nature.

What do you do?

Most of my background was actually in watercolors and pen and ink drawings. I did almost solely those two things for about 4 years, with occasional acrylic pieces here and there, but recently I bought an ipad so I could branch out into digital art. Lately, all of my pieces have been simple black and whites, though I recently started expanding into colored pieces. 

Who/what inspires you?

My biggest inspiration for almost everything I’ve done comes from outdoors. It’s no coincidence that’s the field I’m trying to enter as well. I love drawing any mountain scene with the stars. I’ve always looked outside with wonder, and I do my best to represent my love for the wilderness in my pieces. 

What is your favorite moment in the process?

Honestly, my favorite parts are 1) when I get the inspiration to create something new, and 2) when I finish placing the last star. That part is always so tedious for me and it feels great to be done and look at a completed project. 

What is a trick of your trade or a piece of advice for artists in your medium?

The biggest piece of advice I can give for any medium I’ve worked with is watch youtube videos and ask questions. There’s always somebody out there with more knowledge on something, even if its a minor detail, and you never know who might be able to give you the advice that makes your next piece your best one yet. 

What is next?

My next goal is to expand my digital art style to attempt to create more realistic looking pieces. I love where my inspiration comes from, but I’d also like to learn how to do more types of scenery. If I had to pick one I’d like to learn how to do though, it’d have to be northern lights.  

Check out his Instagram @etz_art to see more designs!

"I'm inspired by the artists who, in this time of tumult and uncertainty, are showing up, putting their heads down, and telling the story of this place."

Presenting our Kindred Artist of the Week series! We are big fans of all the artists we work with and we are so excited to share their stories!

Who are you?

I'm a Juneau based artist. Primarily, I'm a photographer, but also a bookmaker, printer and teacher. 

What do you do?

My days vary considerably. I run an operation called Ice Fog Press which is my publishing imprint, where I design, publish, and construct small run artist books for photographers that I appreciate and want to work with. Also, IFP is sort of a catchall for anything else that isn't my own work. As a photographer, I have a particular skill set that can be useful outside of my own artistic practice. On a given day I may be printing for another local artist, editing photos from a commercial or editorial job, teaching a class out of my studio or at UAS, or working on my own projects. 

Who/what inspires you?

I'm inspired by the artists who, in this time of tumult and uncertainty, are showing up, putting their heads down, and telling the story of this place. 

What is your favorite moment in the process?

Every step has it's rewards. The making of the pictures - being in the landscape, meeting people and making portraits, stitching it all together to make something coherent - it's a rush, an addiction. But, the end stage of printing, which I'm deep in right now, is also really satisfying. Whether its a digital or analogue capture, finally seeing the image on paper, at scale, is exhilarating. You never really know if you got it until its on paper. 

What is a trick of your trade or a piece of advice for artists in your medium?

Last semester I taught the Art Appreciation class at UAS for the first time in a couple years, and I show this old clip that features Chuck Close which I hadn't thought about in a while. At the end he says, as sort of parting shot to would-be artists "Inspiration is for amateurs, the rest of us just show up and get to work". As I get older, I recognize how true those words are. Every breakthrough I've ever had in my own work has come from work itself. I can be prone to navel-gazing and when I was younger, waiting for lightening to strike. It took me a long time to just trust my process, curiosity and instinct. And, that all of the bad pictures are necessary in order to get to the good ones.

What is next?

I have the heaviest exhibition schedule this year that I've ever had. It's both exciting and terrifying. I just released an artist book through Ice Fog Press called The Light That Got Lost, and I'll be exhibiting that work at the City Museum in February. It's an ongoing project that I've been working on for a couple years up on the ice field as arts faculty with the Juneau Icefield Research Program. Then in May I'll be showing Atomic Island, the culmination of a five year project on the Aleutian Island of Adak, at the Anchorage Museum. That show will run all summer, and come home to the State Museum in November. Also, later in the year I'll be included in a big group exhibition in Portland, and a couple smaller things that are too early in the works to speak to much about. It's going to be a big year of unveiling some things I've been working on for a long time.

Ben's Work can be seen on exhibit at the Juneau-Douglas City Museum until February 28th and on the Ice Fog Press website.