My work deals with visual and written language over time, exploring generational differences in the understanding of communication. I use illustrated early and mid-twentieth century manuals on home management, décor, repair, health, education and etiquette for source material and inspiration. This drawing starts with photo illustrations from the 1967 book (pictured below) whose opening sentence reads, “My dear young friend: This, I think, is the book you have been waiting for.” Ha! This text only makes me laugh and initiates the process of reinventing the original source material into something with totally new associations.
I use two images from different book chapters and print them on separate sheets of paper in two colors. Both sheets are then covered with a watercolor wash of the same color and the sheets are joined together.
Using a photograph I took of my model, I start drawing over the background with a colored pencil, integrating another layer of information. Here’s more progress:
I continue adding layers (and obstructing previous ones) as I develop the image…
…until my idea for the new drawing is complete.
The title of this image is “Learns Much About the World”.
Stop by Main Street Arts to see Minna Resnick’s prints in our current exhibition the Upstate New York Printmaking Invitational (runs through October 7). View her work online at www.minnaresnick.com.
Take a look at our previous Inside the Artist’s Studio blog post by printmaker Kathleen Sherin.
