I’ve always loved printmaking, particularly for the unique textures that can be created in ink. I wouldn’t say that I was ever the best at getting finger-smudge free prints every time. What I would say is that this particular incident is not a “me at my best” example.

I think it is has been critical to look back on past work and ideas and develop them further. Over the years I’ve been collecting my old sketchbooks because I constantly “re-read” them. Sometimes an idea or piece from my past will resonate with me even more in the present because I have a different perspective now. I think layering my old art with the new builds an in the moment narrative of my life.

The incident (really not an incident) began when I was rooting around my printmaking supplies. I was considering bringing out some old collagraph plates to use them for some texture prints but I found something else. A linocut that I had done just after college but had never actually printed (because I hated it a little bit). I decided it was time to get it over with and set to work. Anyone who has done printing before knows exactly what stupid thing I did next. For those that don’t know, I’m not telling. The resulting print is both pure DADA art and evidence of my aging mind. I have no idea what my original concept for this piece was; I have guesses, but as I said, I hated it. I guess that is a story never to be told. My mistake gave that disappointing original image a whole new life, an ode to a happy accident.