Secrets of Printmaking: Interview with Cecilia Lieder and Joel Cooper

Fog, by C. Lieder

Tomorrow evening, Thursday, May 15 from 5 to 9 pm. there will be an opening reception at the Northern Prints Gallery for a show called Secrets of Printmaking. The gallery is in the lower level of Cecilia Lieder's vintage Duluth home at 318 North 14th Avenue East, across the avenue from Burrito Union. The last show I attended there was quite impressive and i expect this one to be no exception.

Here is a brief intro to Ms. Lieder and Joel Cooper, two of the artists who will be showing there. Joel Moline, Tom Rauschenfels and Jon Hinkel are the others whose work will be displayed. At the opening the artists will also present and discuss their various media, processes and interpretations.

EN: Where did the name Secrets of Printmaking come from?

Cecilia Lieder: The craft aspect of making a print can seem very mysterious - and one of our hopes is to de-mystify how the various media of printmaking are accomplished... as well as to show how this affects the imagery in the resulting prints. There is also a subtler meaning to the "secrets"aspect. Printmaking, as a medium, is not widely recognized as a serious artistic endeavor having as great a potential for artistic depth and mastery as any other fine art medium. All five of us have been primarily printmakers all of our professional lives - exploring printmaking's possibilities in depth, and we will also speak about what that artistic journey has meant for us.

EN: The last time we met you showed me some amazing woodcuts prints you have done. Why are you doing lithography for this show?

CL: The aim was to feature as many media as possible while keeping this show to local artists (due to the complexity of its organizational aspects). Tom Rauschenfels is also a woodcut printmaker of great mastery, so, since I make lithographs as well as woodcuts, I chose to be the lithography medium representative. And I'm glad I did - it's been a very interesting dig for me to look over my body of work in lithography again.

EN: What do you like about the litho process?

CL: Drawing! Lithography (which means drawing on stone) is the only print medium that allows you to make a print like a pencil-drawn image. And the litho stone is the most wonderful surface in the world to draw on - making possible a range of subtle values that can't be matched with any other drawing surface. I also like the interiority of the lithographic medium. It is far less physically demanding than woodcuts, and - at least for me - seems to invite a meditative state. This has created a rich aesthetic balance for me with the woodcuts.

EN: How did you select the artists for this Secrets show?

CL: By their mastery of their media and willingness to participate. Joel Cooper has taken screen printing to a totally new level, earning many well-earned awards for his work. Jon Hinkel is the go-to printmaker for letterpress expertise in our region, as well as in the wider arena. And Joel Moline has shown his wood engravings throughout the world. It's an excellent opportunity for people to see the quality of what is happening here in Duluth in printmaking. And meeting the artists, hearing them speak about their work, just adds to the experience.

Like many of our local artists, Joel Cooper is a transplant to our region. Along with Cecilia Lieder, he is co-founder of the Northern Printmakers Alliance.

EN: When did you begin to take an interest in the fine arts?

Joel Cooper: I took some night drawing workshops at the Cincinnati Museum of Art as a teenager which led to a bit of oil painting. But my big moment was in 1969 when I purchased a used Nikon F in Minneapolis. From that moment on I was always snapping photos. I found a new way of looking at the world as if I were seeing it in framed compositions. Looking closely at all the details. I always had a dark room and being there I could release my creativity. I still take lot of photos to use as ideas for my screen printing.

EN: Can you briefly outline your schooling and career path?

JC: In the late 1980's I attended a workshop on the introduction to screen printing at the Duluth Art Institute and I had found my life long niche.

I grew up in Cincinnati and attended the University of Cincinnati. My junior year I spent in Aix en Province in southern France. Being in the area where the impressionists lived and painted inspired me to no end.

My career path is long and varied but in the beginning I used screen printing in my business printing logos on gift items even hockey pucks. Today I still screen print logos on name badges purchased at our Cooper's Engraving Service store.

EN: What kind of screen printing processes do you use? Do you prefer emulsion or film and why?

JC: I use film... only Chromaline film, made here in Duluth. It allows the printing of very fine lines...it is actually used a lot in the printing of circuit boards.

EN: You say that screen printing is contemplative. In what way?

JC: The printing process itself is very difficult to describe in words. For anyone interested a demonstration of the process can be viewed at the Northern Printmakers Gallery, The Secrets of Printmaking, May 15, 5:00-9:00 p.m.

Screen printing is like a chess game where every move must be contemplated before you start printing. What colors in what order...opaque or transparent ink...draw with pen or brush...draw to jazz or classical music...etc.

EN: How did you get connected to the Northern Printmakers Alliance?

JC: There is a wealth of printmaking talent in the region and Cele Lieder and I felt it would be a great idea to found the alliance. We have members from all over the region who exhibit together and promote there various forms of printmaking to the public...

* * * *

The opening is tomorrow night.... We'll see you there!

Five Minutes with Printmaker Joel Moline of the Northern Printmakers Alliance

Wood engraver Joel Moline is one of five artists and master printers who will be featured in a special show called Secrets of Printmaking at the Northern Prints Gallery at 318 14th Avenue East, across the street from the Burrito Union. The opening is on Thursday, May 15 from 5 to 9 pm. For more information visit their website at www.northernprintsgallery.com/current.html. Other featured artists include Joel Cooper, Jon Hinkel, Tom Rauschenfels and Celia Lieder, whose vintage East Hillside home houses the gallery. 

EN: When did you first notice that you like to draw more than the average person?
Joel Moline: I have drawings from when I was 3 or 4. My parents found that at an early age if I were given a crayon or pencil I would be quiet (church), so I was encouraged to draw from a very early age. Perhaps it was a fascination with making marks and the marks became objects and the objects became compositions. It is almost a compulsion and it is the way I think.

EN: What is the main driver behind your compulsion to make art?
JM: If something is a compulsion you don't always know it's source it just is. I have always used art to express myself and explore and respond to my environment. When I am creating art I am totally involved, time passes without my realizing it, and it feels good.

Grand Marais Breakwater

EN: You taught art for years at a school for the deaf. How did this come about and how was it different from your other teaching experiences?
JM: During my senior year at the University of Minnesota I was doing my student teaching and became friends with the special education teacher. Upon graduation he contacted me letting me know that there was a position open at the Minnesota School for the Deaf. Teaching positions were few and far between so I applied for the position and was given the job. For the next two summers I took graduate work in art and deaf eduction. Teaching deaf children was a challenge and a joy. I had to communicate with sign language, vocally, and on the overhead, using as many inputs as possible to reach my students. They were enthusiastic perhaps because visual art was a method of communicating and expressing themselves that was less hindered by their handicap. I taught at the School for the Deaf for four years, until my wife and I joined Peace Corps as volunteers.

EN: What have you learned about yourself through a lifetime of teaching?
JM: I learned that I am a teacher, whether it was because of my education or some innate part of me I do not know. I have always looked for connections and interrelationships and tried to project that inter-relatedness of all knowledge into my teaching. Seeing that moment of understanding and thrill of having created something of their own was my greatest reward. For the last twelve years of my teaching career I taught kindergarten thru third grade and found their boundless energy and enthusiasm and sense of adventure to be what challenged and motivated me in my teaching.

Iris II

EN: How did you become interested in wood engravings?
JM: My interest in wood engraving didn't come directly out of my printmaking background. I enjoyed reading the works of Sigurd Olson and was drawn to the scratchboard illustrations of Francis Lee Jaques. For several years I worked in scratchboard and enjoyed the way the image was created by scratching white line into a black ground. Eventually I noticed the similarity with the way images were created in wood engravings and decided to try that technique. After searching out wood engravers I found William Myers who was making a presentation at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts in Minneapolis. I approached Bill for advice and that is how I started about eighteen years ago. The Wood Engravers Network (an international association of wood engravers) has provided stimulation and direction and contact with some of the foremost wood engravers working today. Wood engraving has a long tradition starting in England in the 1770's and was used in book illustration until the photo processes came into use. Now wood engraving has become a fine art technique and I am drawn to the tradition of craftsmanship, the use of tools that have remained unchanged for over 200 years, and the use of the type-high end-grained blocks of boxwood or hard maple. The small scale and the way the image is created continue to intrigue and motivate my work.

A Visit With Printmaker and Arts Activist Cecilia Lieder

In front some of her woodcut prints at North Shore Bank.

Saturday afternoon I found a space of time to visit the Panorama opening for the Northern Printmakers Alliance. With the exception of Cele here at top, the images on this page are from that exhibition.

Cecilia Lieder’s East Hillside residence not only houses her studio but is also home for the Northern Prints Gallery. An artist printmaker for over 35 years, her work is well-known in the region as well as the Boston area where she lived for ten years. Her most recent awards are the Arrowhead Regional Arts Commission George Morrison Artist Award for lifetime achievement in the arts (2007) and in 2006, the Depot Foundation Artist Award for art and arts activism. Her career has demonstrated her commitment to making a difference in cultural awareness in northern Minnesota.

EN: Why are you so passionate about printmaking and how did this passion develop in you?

Cecilia Lieder: That’s a huge question! It would have to start at about 9 months old – when my calling as an artist began to exhibit itself by an extraordinarily keen absorption in visual beauty in all its forms – particularly color and shape. I developed quickly – by 18 months old I had my own chalkboard and other art supplies, and was drawing every day, as well as taking great pleasure in the skill of my hands. My family had already recognized my talent. I took art-making supplies for granted – though where my parents found the means for it – with seven children and not much income – I can’t guess.

Heart of a Peony: Red by Lieder

My engrossment in beauty, color, form, drawing and craftsmanship has persisted and dominates my work to this day. As it happens, these are qualities that nearly every printmaker strongly exhibits, so unknowingly, I had already begun evolving into a printmaker. My formal education in art began when I was 16, with my first art class in high school. The initial project was relief printing, where all my art skills suddenly drew together – and that was it. I recognized it when I found it. It called me.

EN: How was the Northern Printmakers Alliance formed?

Woodcut by Lieder titled "She"

CL: After I directed the “Perspectives on the Hillside” grass roots art exhibit, Joel Cooper – whose wife Deborah had been part of the Perspectives show at Sacred Heart – approached me and suggested that I organize something for printmakers. I thought it was an excellent idea, so I called the printmakers I knew and invited them to come and talk about it. Six of us met at my dining room table on January 15, 1999, and laid out a plan for a printmaking group. We decided on the name – Northern Printmakers Alliance – because we felt the need to support each other in a city where there was very little understanding of original prints at that time.

We had no trouble coming up with a mission statement: Jon Hinkel was adamant about - and all of us were in agreement with – its emphasis on the traditional printmaking arts (though we’ve always included digital prints and other experimental media as well) and on educating our region about printmaking. By the time of our first group show six months later, we had tripled our membership and received an ARAC Project Grant for promoting the group’s aims. The opening attendance was one of the largest turnouts Lizzards had ever had at that time. We were given amazing community support and enthusiasm from the start – from Bob DeArmond at ARAC, John Steffl at the DAI, Donna Ekberg at Lizzards, Joan Farnam at the newspapers, and from the community at large – which really helped us grow. The Northern Prints Gallery developed naturally out of this impetus, as a place to give printmaking a constant public presence in the region.

Paper cutout, mixed media story by Susan Pagnucci

EN: Some of the work in your last show came from all over the country. Is your gallery connected to a larger group of print makers? In what way, and how did that come about?
CL: This show was our first “national call” – but printmakers are still a relatively small community in the arts, so there is a general thread of connectedness. We tend to seek each other out.

EN: When did printmakers begin to be taken seriously as artists? How did this come about?
CL: It’s true that for many centuries printmaking was primarily a utilitarian art form – serving the need for illustration and artwork reproduction, as well as commercial and publishing purposes. However, when I look at the incredible skill and sophistication involved in much of that work (even ‘primitive’ forms of it) I have to conclude that printmaking had already surreptitiously evolved into a fine art form long before it was widely recognized as such. Though the transformation was gradual, even from the beginning its practitioners had all the tendencies, talents and creativity of those we now call fine artists. It became fine art when they began to (openly) use it as a personal expressive tool, and the art world took notice.

The invention of photography also did a great deal to free printmakers. The crafts movement in the early 20th century – with its revival of respect for the crafts as fine art also contributed. By mid-century, the present day proliferation of printmaking in the United States had begun – one of its first centers was in the Midwest: Chicago. This movement is still gathering steam and incorporating new media and practitioners at the present time.

The show provided a true panoramic view of the possibilities of printmaking.

EN: You have been making art for a very long time. How has your work and vision evolved over the years?

"Giraffe" by Mary Bruno

CL: I’ve been educated in many other art forms since I discovered printmaking, but it’s still my native place in the arts – along with drawing. It uses all my proclivities and skills, and presents a constantly exciting challenge. So I would say that one development in terms of my work has been in a significant refinement of my skills – beginning with basics – line and craft– and progressing to development in form, composition, etc, as well as the practice of creativity, itself. For the past decade or more, it has been centered on a joyful exploration of color. In terms of vision, my work in art has consistently mirrored my personal spiritual/psychological development, as it does with all artists. I have been conscious of art as a spiritual journey for many decades – both in the interweaving comprehension it mirrors for the artist-maker, and in becoming an actual vehicle of the growth itself. These two aspects – the making and the vision – are so intertwined as to be inextricable and can only approximately be spoken of as distinct entities. The artist-maker must develop apace with the artist as person (and vice versa) – one’s development demands it. I find that subject matter has very little to do with this – though it is, of course, the expressive means (just as wood is necessary to make a woodcut). Subject matter is simply a metaphor. All visual artists are essentially working with the same elements of art… regardless of their subjects.

My early work was symbolist, abstract, and surrealistic – in that order. A crisis came in my life during which it seemed imperative to me that I ground my vision more in “reality” – to learn the truths that the natural world had to teach me. There was a need to be more connected with my outer environment and to integrate it more fully with my inner life. This subject matter has continued to engross me (at ever deeper and differing levels) for nearly thirty-five years. Though I can see hints of new directions appearing, most of the work that the public identifies with me, comes from this period. All the while, the basic foundation – the mystery and delight of what and how the eye reveals life – remains a constant.


EN: My only regret is that I couldn't stay longer.... and while I had the chance I should have taken time to meet more of the artists.

For more information on the Northern Prints Gallery visit www.northernprintsgallery.com

Local Art Seen: North Shore Bank Printmakers Exhibition

It's always a pleasant surprise to find new art being displayed in what might otherwise be an ordinary space. Last week I found myself at the North Shore Bank to check out an exhibition of works by the Northern Printmakers Alliance. My host and "tour guide" was Cecilia Lieder of the Northern Prints Gallery.

The show, which will be open during regular bank hours till August 2, was curated by John Steffl, a respected artist in his own right. What treasures there are on the walls of this bank. The common denominator in this group is printmaking, but the mediums vary significantly as does the subject matter. Lithography, monotype, woodcut, linocut, serigraphy, letterpress, relief print, and screen printing all have examples of the possibilities of their respective methods.

Jeffrey Kalstrom's Red Rover, Red Rover

Lieder, who is herself a printmaker, found herself enthralled by printmaking in her very first art class at sixteen. She herself loves lithography and relief cuts. As for litho, she calls stone "the most beautiful draing surface in the world." When I ask why she says, "It's so hard that it gives a greater range of values. It seems like it (stone) would be cold, but it's warm."

Something we both agreed on is that though printmaking is itself messy, it does things no other medium can do. I asked her what it is that drew her in to printmaking. "The differed image," she replied. "What you work on is not what shows up."

I can see that. Her woodcuts are large and detailed and I ask how the effect is achieved. "I use plywood. It's difficult to carve, but it doesn't warp."

Lieder started her Northern Prints Gallery because she wanted a space for printmaking arts, which often seems underrepresented. It's not the same as painting and is on the borderline between art and craft. But when you see a show like this you realize what a talented collection of artists and artisans have been gathered here. I strongly encourage you if downtown this month you'll really want to take it in. It's a feast.

Cecilia Lieder in front of several woodcuts of her own.

There are 80 pieces and more than 30 artists represented.

Woodcuts by Tom Rauschenfels. Like the rest of the show... Impressive!

The Northern Prints Gallery is located across the street from Burrito Union on 14th Avenue East. The hours are 1-6 p.m., Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Enjoy!