Vancouver Island University interviewed me recently due to my successful submission of Plexus into the 75th Anniversary of the Boston Printmakers Biennial earlier this year. Plexus was also profiled in ArtScope Magazine and made the exhibition catalogue cover. My hand carved and printed artwork even found its way into a collector’s home!
Click on the Learn More button below to read all about it!
My print entitled ‘Plexus’ was juried into The 2023 Boston Printmakers 75th Anniversary Biennial!
The Exhibition will be held from October 10th-December 9th, 2023 at The Boston University.
Plexus was inspired by a dandelion gone to seed and is a complex structure containing a network of intricate connections. It celebrates the fragile and fragmented poetics of connection and sings with white light when the pieces come together.
Plexus, Linocut Reduction
It looks like I made the news! The Nanaimo News Bulletin wrote a small article featuring an upcoming Fine Art Show that I will be participating in. It is an honour to have my work showcased! Read the full article below.
Kate Cino from Art Openings in Victoria interviewed me and wrote an informative article about my life and practice as an artist. The article also promotes my upcoming exhibition HUMAN / NATURE with Saltspring Artist, Marilyn Walker. The exhibit runs from September 16 - October 2, 2022 at The Chapel Gallery in Victoria.
I am excited to share this announcement from the Chapel Gallery in Victoria, BC :
The CHAPEL GALLERY is pleased to introduce HUMAN/NATURE, an exhibition of recent works by Mary Anne Molcan and Marilyn Walker. The exhibition features their multidimensional prints, drawings, paintings and source materials. Molcan’s images depict the art of interbeing, where she blurs boundaries between human identity and the natural world. Walker’s multimedia art practice is a contemplative process. Her works focus on sentience and interbeing, where she portrays the consciousness in all living beings. The consciousness that links us all together.
I thought I would share a little bit about how I make my prints. Although, I refer to myself as a printmaker, I have come to realize that many people think I paint and then make prints by reproducing my paintings. And… that is not what I do! Each print I make, is a hand carved and hand pulled print. In other words, each print is an original work of art, just like a painting is.
My favourite method of working with linoblock is often referred to as the "Suicide Method”.
It is a reductive format where I systematically destroy the block I am working on. It’s so much fun! I generally work with a colour pallet that ranges in value from light to darker hues. After I print each colour, the block is carved to eliminate the latest colour from being reprinted. This process continues until the last colour remains and the block is destroyed.
Due to the deterioration of the block through this method, it is impossible to undo any mistakes, making every carving decision final. This ensures that each print series is truly one of a kind and impossible to replicate.
Colour theory and interactions are also fundamental elements to consider during this process. For example, yellow ink over blue ink will make a layer of green. If I wanted yellow to remain in a print, I would have to begin with yellow.
I do not plan out every layer, as some printmakers do. I respond to each layer, leaving room for an intuitive evolution of colour and imagery to unfold. Minor differences that occur during the hand application of ink also contribute to the uniqueness of every print.
I love the tension and the challenges this method presents. It is truly a labour of love, and the meditative aspects of carving combined with the mechanical act of printing bring many rewards.
Here are examples of all the layers included in my print entitled ‘Exhale’ .
When I first put my studio together I carefully considered my supplies. I wanted to source out products that performed well but were also ethically responsible.
I thought I would share with you a little bit about the paper I chose to use and why.
I use 100% Somerset satin cotton paper from St. Cuthberts Mill which is situated by a source of fresh flowing naturally filtered water - the river Axe.
Materials are carefully selected so that the mill does not harm the natural environment. In fact, the mill returns the water it extracts back to the river, free and clear from any paper making additives. St. Cuthberts Mill further protects the local habitat through the use of supplies from sustainable sources.
The fibres used in cotton paper production are a by-product of the textile industry and would otherwise go to the landfill (classified as pre consumer waste).
I feel great making art on what could have gone to the landfill!
St. Cuthbert's Mill has been making paper in the same area since the 1700’s. I am grateful for their expertise and care for the natural world.
I order my printmaking paper directly from England and absolutely love the way it is so receptive to my inks! It is well worth the wait to arrive.
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Freshly pulled prints from my studio hanging on a line to dry.
I enjoy writing my monthly newsletter. It is a way to connect with others and to share my inspirations, rewards and challenges. The act of writing tethers me and I become focussed on my goals. I am reminded of the motivations behind the creation of my artwork and what the imagery communicates. The process of art making includes exploratory avenues that excite me and as I write, I reflect on meaning. Sharing what I have learned brings me joy. I only ever send one newsletter around the middle of the month. Consider subscribing and join me on the journey!
People of Print featured one of the prints from my new renewal series in their members showcase. The print is entitled élan which references the vigorous spirit of life. I thought about how the warmth of the sun triggers molecular responses in plants to generate new growth. The stitching together of cells all happen beneath the surface of what we usually see as we move into spring. Read the article to learn more about my thoughts and processes during the creation of this energetic print!
élan, by Mary Anne Molcan
On May 20, 2021, The Nanaimo Arts Council launched their first online curated exhibition called Rooted: Connections to the Land in the art of Mary Anne Molcan, Carly Nabess and Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun. This was a exciting project to be a part of, as well as, an opportunity to share my artwork and elements of my practice as an artist.
Eliot and I were interviewed by Kathryn Marlow just prior to the opening celebrations and artist talks. If you would like to hear the interview to learn more about my work, click on the link below.
Image courtesy of Nanaimo Arts Council
Sustenance’ and ‘Moths Dancing Around the Moon’ by Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun, ‘Wihkasin (Delicious)’ and ‘Ennbrosh a payncheur (Paintbrush)’ by Carly Nabess and ‘Fern Dance’ and ‘Fluid Space’ by Mary Anne Molcan
I am honoured to have been invited to participate in the online exhibition entitled ‘Rooted: Connections to the Land’, curated by Madalen Claire Benson with the support of the Nanaimo Arts Council. The exhibit showcases my work alongside work by Carly Nabess and Eliot White-Hill, Kwulasultun. Although our art practices are very different, we all share a deep affinity for the land.
The Nanaimo News Bulletin interviewed Madalen Claire Benson - click the ‘learn more’ button to read all about it!
photo courtesy of Nanaimo Arts Council - from left to right - Mary Anne Molcan, Carly Nabess (photo by Ashley Long) & Eliot White-Hill (photo by Brittany Lawrence).
Lino block prints are considered relief prints which result from printing on a raised surface. The linoleum surface is carved and the part of the block that is not carved, receives the ink. The portions of the block that are carved away are not printed. There are many carving tools and techniques printmakers use to create their marks and imagery. Ink is often rolled onto the Lino block surface with a brayer. A receptive matrix like paper is pressed onto the inked up block by using a tool such as a hand barren or the unit is run through a printing press to create a print! Human beings have been making prints for centuries as evident by handprints found in prehistoric caves! I like to think of the printmaking process as an embrace - one receptive surface pressed upon another ❤️
“Mary Anne Molcan is a Canadian visual artist who lives and practices on Vancouver Island. Her love for printmaking and artistic pursuits began at the age of seven after she won a first place award for a drawing at a local fair in Manitoba. Since then, creating art as a communicative practice has been an integral part of Mary Anne’s life and identity.”
Canadian visual artist Mary Anne Molcan is intrigued by the affiliation we have with our unconscious and how that relates to the physical world. Integrating a wide range of media to build diverse layers of color and texture within her works, Mary Anne has exhibited across Western Canada and her work is in both public and private collections across the country.
In this short video she shares her inspirations as a printmaker and talks about her linocut reduction print 'Winter Light' now showing in our current exhibition All About Winter.
“Hi Mary Anne,
Thank you very much for your application to become an official People of Print member — we have had thousands of applications of a very high standard. We now have over 350 official members where we aim to showcase the very best of print, both creatively and industriously from around the world. Our team have been rather meticulous with who becomes a verified official member, so congratulations! We are very happy to say that you have been successful with your application.”
Official People of Print Member
I worked hard to put together a body of work for my BA Major Visual Arts show at The View Gallery on Vancouver Island University campus. I also graduate with a minor in psychology that informs and inspires my practice. The origin of visual art, how it is imagined, created, and appreciated is grounded in human perception, giving it a combined biological and psychological basis. The experience of art and what constitutes its value are human activities and thus, are directly related to the processes of the brain. These thoughts and ideas become fascinating subject matter for an artist.
Our graduation show was entitled Archipelago as it embodied a diverse range of work and practices. We shared our artistic visions within a shared place in time and space.
My artist statement for the show:
I live on an island where relationships with ecosystems are magnified through human impact and I question the validity of some of our interactions. To kindle an understanding of my own fundamental connection with the biosphere, I currently work with the fragmentation of the moth to investigate concepts of impermanence and traces of life left behind. Many impressions of moth symbolism have arisen from their nocturnal behaviour and attraction to light, thus the moth is often used to convey transformative messages from our ancestors. My interest in perception is informed by the connection we have with our unconscious and how that relates to the physical world. I integrate a wide range of media including grounds, oil & acrylic pigments, soft pastels, charcoal, wax, and human made materials, to build diverse layers of colour and texture within my works. My practice embodies the use of repetitive imagery that includes the processes of drawing, painting, collage, and print media.Through these channels my explorations embrace an interface with elements found in nature for which we have an affinity, and encompasses both historical and contemporary perspectives. My inquiries center on environmental stewardship and how that might manifest, as I blur the boundaries between the natural world and human identity.
