Featured Artist Emily Ennulat-Lustine

Emily Ennulat-Lustine’s beautiful hand-pulled collograph intaglio prints highlight the wonderful moments of connection. To see more of her art, please visit her website.

 

 

Mindful examination of the fine and subtle details that exist in both the physical world and the emotional one is perhaps the most inspiring and gratifying quality in creating my intaglio prints.

 

 

While foraging for the textured “stuff” necessary to construct the collagraph plates (“collagraph” stemming from the word “collage”), I enjoy paying close attention to the intricate surfaces within the tangible world, looking carefully for any matter, organic and manufactured, that would offer up an interesting pattern or design. (i.e. leaves, ferns, grasses, foil, seeds, fabric, netting, etc.)

 

 

After sketching, carving, cutting and building up the surfaces to form a shallow three-dimensional illustration that will hold the etching ink, I ink the entire plate with all colors using many brushes, one for each color. The plate is then topped with a pliable printmaking paper and rolled through an etching press, thus “pulling” the resulting collagraph print from the plate. In much the same way, the up-close observation is mirrored during the search for my themes and subjects.

 

 

My figurative pieces frequently express an intimate narrative of the momentary instants we share during a touch, through a glance, or even between a space. These experiences with other beings and/or our environment are so often regrettably transient, but when witnessed (and hopefully captured), can be quite powerful and sensitive. Whether encountered or witnessed, I have found that even when brief, these connections can carry significant weight in our memories.

 

 

During both the conceiving of the pictorial “story” and the fabricating of the material plate, I feel deeply engaged in the ephemeral, fragile details of life, inspecting the world with a focused awareness. Through my work, I hope to bring to life these delicately beautiful and often neglected qualities we so often overlook in our daily maneuvers.

 

 

This last year, my interests have also expanded to incorporate my original, miniature prints into handcrafted jewelry. Many of these newer pieces are informed by my cherished time spent out on the trail, on the road and in my travels, as well as the familiar figurative narratives.

 

 

Whether I am working in large scale or miniature, printmaking continues to offer me a wide variety of experiences and challenges and still remains a unique, spontaneous and stimulating medium.

 

Emily Ennulat-Lustine invites you to follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

 

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