I spent several months this fall in the print shop at Mimar Sinan, Istanbul’s fine arts university. I first stepped into the school not having made a single etching, block print or aquatint for years, so I had to roll up my sleeves and start from scratch on this one. Working in the Gravür Atölyesi, or print studio, reminded me of my print making class in college…except for this time I had to pay extra attention because all of the instructions were in Turkish.
The reason why I found myself with ink covered hands and working among Turkish fine arts students was to make work for an upcoming print exhibition. Since I am a painter primarily I needed to spend a few months coming up with new work for this show. After many weeks of drawing, etching, inking, pressing and learning many new Turkish words…I had made a series of 3 prints, all reflecting my current theme of interior and exterior spaces.
On the night of the opening, we crossed the Bosphorus to Kuzguncuk, on the Asian side of Istanbul to see my work hanging along with 24 other print artists. The best part of this process for me is of course sharing my work, celebrating with friends and loved ones…and seeing that little red dot on the wall.
A very special thank you to Can Aytekin for the invitation to participate in this show, and for all of the help and patience. Also to my friends and family, and to Ozgur for all of your love and support this fall.
“Untitled” Etching and Aquatint on Paper, 2014
“Pekmaz Yaparken” Dry Point Print on Paper, 2014
“Interior/Exterior” Etching and Aquatint on Paper. Credit for the original photograph of this piece goes to Heather Freedman.
Mavi Lale 