About Dawn

Exploration and the challenges that come with it are very important to me.  That is why I do not limit myself to one medium.

Printmaking is my first love.  I was previously an oil painter who worked on canvas alone.  As I began to expand the different substrates that I worked on and increase the texture of my paints I started to think in a new way.  In the early 90’s I was taking classes at the Hicks Art Center at Bucks County Community College.  My focus was on drawing and painting.  I happened to catch a printmaking class in action and was instantly drawn to it.  I soon enrolled in the printmaking program and found a medium that fit me well.  I went on to study at the University Of The Arts in Philadelphia and received a BFA in printmaking.

Printmaking is very challenging in that there are so many ways to make a print.  Prints can be painterly and textural, yet they can also be graphic and precise.  They can be colorful and multidimensional or beautiful in there black or sepia toned simplicity.

So many new processes are developed all the time that there is always a challenge to be overcome for the printmaker.  Prints go beyond the 2 dimensional, especially in the process of development.  As many printmakers will agree, process is half the fun.  And learning one process leads to thinking about many more ways of creating imagery.  Tools are also an important part of the process, and I soon had a box full of  them!

I was doing a series of woodcuts with hand tools and also an electric dremel with a flex shaft.  I loved the carving process and was exploring the reduction method of printmaking.  I happened to see an episode of gourd crafting on TV and knew instantly that I had to try it.  I purchased a few gourds from the local farm and waited all winter for them to dry.  At the moment I carved into my first dry gourd I knew I had found another good fit. The possibilities are endless!  Gourds are so organic and luscious to cut, carve, dye, wood burn, and weave with natural fibers.

Natural fibers are the lure for me when it comes to papermaking.  Being a printmaker, I would buy various fibrous and machine made papers to print on.  So it only seemed natural to make my own papers in colors, textures, and sizes that fit my work.
I took my first papermaking class in 2002 and have been exploring the art of hand made paper ever since.

The hand made paper, prints, and gourds all work together in helping me create my imagery.  Ideas form and influence one another.  For example, the 3 dimensional aspect of my gourd work has brought a sculptural quality to many of my prints.   Sheets of hand made paper have been the key source for many of my prints, and I have carved images from my prints onto my gourds.  Working this way keeps the challenges coming and the glory of exploration constant!

Dawn L. Wesemann