The following quote by Julia Cameron, author of ‘The Artist’s Way‘ hangs proudly in the studio of printmaker Jennifer O’Young:-
“No matter what your age or your life path, whether making art is your career or your hobby or your dream…. it is not too late or too egotistical or too selfish or too silly to work on your creativity.”
These words carry a special meaning for Jennifer, who found her true creative calling a little later than expected. Jennifer had always enjoyed working with oils, watercolour, coloured pencils and gouache alongside her work as a classroom teacher, but it wasn’t until she attended Mittagong’s Sturt Workshop in 2008 that her passion for another medium – printmaking – was unleashed.
“When I found printmaking it was life changing,” she told KAS members at our March meeting. “It really was the right thing to happen to me at the right time.”
Now, printmaking had such a hold on Jennifer’s life that if she’s not printmaking, she’s nearly always thinking about it! The artist has even saved her pennies to purchase her very own printing press, which is now located at home in her studio (“previously known as ‘the bedroom'”, she told us).
As she told her story, Jennifer passed around several of her hand pulled prints, including collagraphs, linocuts, drypoints, photo polymer/aluminium and zinc plate etchings. Jennifer’s work carries impressive variety in subject matter and technique. Many of her works feature Chinese, Japanese and Balinese-style subjects, all relayed with impressive delicacy and detail. She loves to subtly layer subjects and colours in her prints: a technique that draws the viewer in with its depth.
Jennifer’s talent for printmaking has already been recognised, with the artist winning First Prize both in the KAS 2011 & 2012 Awards Exhibition, as well as receiving awards in the National Miniatures Art Society’s exhibition, the Hornsby Exhibition and at the Waterbrook in Greenwich. She has exhibited and sold her work in a number of shows and competitions including Gosford Art Prize, Blacktown Art Prize and Hornsby art prize, as well as in local galleries.
Before concluding her address to the Society, Jennifer said she advises aspiring artists to take a small step each day towards their art. She left us with Julia Cameron’s inspiring words of wisdom, which underly Jennifer’s passion for experimentation: “To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong”.
Thank you Jennifer for an outstanding and fascinating talk on so many printing techniques.
Susanna Robinson.
