Ansari
Return to Printmaking 2017: The misadventures and labour of love in Litho & Lino and Xilo
An unfortunate event and heartbreak led me back to a very fortunate and inspiring rediscovery of what makes me truly happy - Learning and Printmaking. The only 2 disciplines that I had not learnt at my art school were Linocut and Lithography. Intense labour enduring printmaking, physically and mentally. While my heart mourned a misunderstanding, my soul sought another path, a path to a higher form of emoting. When one chapter ends, another starts - because frankly speaking you can reopen a closed door(but they are better left slammed) =D
Lino started as an experimental home project, taking cue from Instagram and Pinterest DIY videos, I tried my hand at creating basic linoprints. Venturing for the appropriate tools and materials led me to the EAV- Parque Lage Art shop, where the absolutely lovely Claudia helped me get enrolled into the Lithography programme at EAV, headed by Tina Velho, the exact mentor I needed in life.
Later, I followed one of my favourite artists to his exhibition, Pedro Sanchez of Cabuloza Wild life | Publicação Independente fame. There he invited me as an audit to his Printmaking course in EBA -UFRJ . Here I learnt Woodcut/Xilogravura and Screen printing under his tutelage in one of the most amazing art universities in Brazil. And, from Pakistan Sir Atif Khan, my very first contact with printmaking kept encouraging me on this journey of inkstains and markmaking.
So, the journey began with the art school within the forest, the art shopkeeper with the golden touch, the professor with decades and decades of experience and a huge humourous heart, the amazing colleagues, the best fresh ice lolly and juice vender, the amazing parque rangers and all afforded by my teaching job run by an amazing and understanding boss, Soraya.
There are beautiful people and beautiful places, you just need to learn where to look <3