Flying Home to Roost

reduction linocut on paper
18" x 12"; framed 26" x 20"

And here's Barred Owl, a woodcut print, showing sensitive and evocative attention to detail, extracting a wide variety of textures from an ancient and conceptually simple technique. We think it's exquisite. Don't you?

Susan has framed nine extraordinary pieces, and they'll be on display through November 24.

We also have a wide variety of her work unframed, which will be available on a continuing basis. You'll also surely be delighted by her small linocuts, mounted on cradleboard, which are ready to hang and can also sit on a desk or table.

Susan, a lifelong sketcher and painter, only discovered printmaking toward the end of her long and accomplished diplomatic career.

Born in France and educated in Canada and New Zealand, Susan MW Cartwright is the daughter of keen travellers and serial migrants. After Susan's finishing high school in New Zealand her family spent three years returning from New Zealand to Canada! That trip through Australia, SE Asia, Europe and North Africa helped form her love of art and travel.

As a young adult, faced with the realities of making her own way in the world with her two degrees in geography and her love of travel, Susan eventually became a member of Canada’s Foreign Service and served abroad in Kenya, Australia, Nigeria, and India, finally reaching the rank of Ambassador to Hungary. She was named to the Order of Canada in 2016.

Since her retirement, she has served on the Board of Directors of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, and the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, and she continues to advise the Board of Trustees of the National Arts Centre.

Upon retirement, Susan began to forge a second career as an artist. She enrolled in courses at the Ottawa School of Art, at first in painting, but in exploring multiple media she eventually happened upon printmaking, and it was "love at first inking".

It wasn’t long before she acquired a small table-top press and then a large etching press, allowing her to create works in her own studio as well as in the Ottawa School of Art’s print studio.

In 2007, Susan and her husband, Nick, acquired an old farmhouse and 47 acres near Perth. The farm has provided endless exploration and inspiration for her printmaking. Like most farms in this area, the soil is very poor, but the wildflowers, trees, and rocks (in abundance) and the vibrant bird and animal life have so far yielded an endless stream of ideas and motivation. The navigable canal which borders the farm and the marshland next door are also sources of inspiration.

Susan has also been driven by things she has seen on her travels, notably a "magical" trip to the Antarctic in 2018/19.  She continues to work on a series of prints of whales, seals, penguins, landscapes, and ice based on her photos and sketches from her trip to the frozen continent.

Rideau Canal Lock
multi-block linocut on paper, mounted on birch panel;  8" x 8"

In hanging this show, we've had an opportunity to learn a bit about the art and craft of printmaking. One hallmark of Susan's work is her affinity for experimentation with every technique available. 

One could ask "why struggle with antique media such as woodblock printing, when modern technology liberates us from its constraints?" After all, creating a true-to-life image nowadays amounts to little more than touching an imaginary button. (There likely isn't even a real shutter on your camera anymore, the clicking sound being synthesized for tradition's sake!)

One of the main things we've learned as gallerists is that creating a true-to-life image is not the purpose of art anymore.  (That is, if exact representation was ever the real goal. Early paintings always leaned toward a sort of idealization - with the targeted ideal shifting across generations and cultures.)

Fidelity to reality is now the camera's job. The artist seeks new ways to see. The charm in an artwork is not only in the subject represented, but in the artist's efforts to interpret that subject. Hence our ideas of "impressionism" (representing the senses) and "expressionism" (representing the emotions) have replaced the ancient longing for pure representation.

"Perhaps most of all," she continues, "I am fascinated by what might be called the alchemy of the press. Printmaking is, at its most basic, the transfer of an image from one surface to another. The first surface is a matrix of some kind, which is modified by the artist. The second, receiving, surface is usually paper, but it can also be fabric, wood, clay, etc. So, the artwork is very different from the means of creating it. And the process of the transfer, whether by hand burnishing or using a press is delayed and separate from the artwork, and not fully controlled by the artist.

"No printmaker can predict with absolute certainty what will happen when they combine ink, paper and block or plate together. The artist as creator stands on one side of the press and the artist as observer stands at the other. I still hold my breath when I lift the press blankets and peel away the paper to reveal how the press has transferred my image, the surprise enhanced by the reversal of the image. This feeling never grows old and almost always suggests new work and new adventures."

Another aspect of printmaking is its accessibility. While each piece is an original work, the process of production makes the effort involved in each unit smaller, allowing for less expense to the buyer. Building a personal collection of prints is an affordable way to collect art. Though it's a pursuit more popular in Europe than in North America, it's very worth considering!

This ties in nicely with our gallery's commitment to having a range of offerings, including not only exquisite fine art by extraordinary artists, but also small, beautiful objects, suitable as modest tasteful gifts, available at accessible prices.

So, added to our small gift inventory, we now have a number of charming small prints of Susan's, carefully mounted on finished, painted wooden cradleboards. Here's a sampling from her "Around the Farm" collection, starting at just $65.

We will be closed on Nov 11, Remembrance Day.

Starting November 12, in addition to our usual Thursday - Saturday hours, we will have extended hours. We'll be open Wednesdays, and we will remain open until 7 PM on Thursdays and Saturdays, through December 19.

Holiday Hours November 12 - December 19

12 PM - 5 PM Wednesdays
12 PM - 7 PM Thursdays 
12 PM - 5 PM Fridays
12 PM - 7 PM Saturdays

We look forward to seeing you!