Susan Johnston
I first had the opportunity to explore printmaking while studying for a Fine Arts degree, and found the medium not only incredibly absorbing, but an exciting, creative extension to my drawing and painting.
Now, as a member of Hot Bed Press, Salford, I am able to continue my love of printmaking alongside other working artists, and witness a variety of approaches and possibilities being explored.
My present work, which I refer to as ‘rust printing’, is a result of an organic etch-like process; that of the steel plates’ response to the elements. I developed this approach in the final year of my studies, using selected rust accelerators and inhibitors to achieve variation in tone and texture within the image.
I also incorporate either monoprints or sheets of chine colle, to create more painterly qualities in the resulting print.
Using photography as a starting point, I find this method enables me to work in a representational, yet abstract approach.
My work is mainly figurative: images of people from everyday life.
Some pieces focus on the intimacy of interactions between people, e.g. friends, siblings, husband and wife; some relate to aspects of childhood; others focus on an isolated figure; but in all, it is the expressed gesture and body language that tells us more about the captured moment.
C.V.
June 2007 - 1st class B.A. (Hons) Fine Art, University of Bolton.
August 2007 - 'Good to Print ', group exhibition, Salford Art Gallery
September 2007 - Octagon Theatre, solo Exhibition
September 2007 - Sefton Open Exhibition, Southport, Prize Winner
October 2007 - Hot Bed Press - printwork members’ exhibition
December 2007 – Bolton Art Gallery Open Exhibition
January 2008 – Waterside Arts Centre, Sale – Open exhibition
May 2008 – The Spirit of Printmaking – Touchstone Gallery,
Rochdale.