PUBLICATIONS

A newly updated Second Edition of THE MEZZOTINT: HISTORY AND TECHNIQUE has just been published. It includes many new artists working in the medium, revised technical explanations with additional illustrations, use of non-toxic materials, and much much more. Copies may be ordered through customercare@schifferbooks.com, amazon.com, or thriftbooks.com.

PODCASTS

Please listen to the conversation as Ann Shafer, host of the PLATEMARK series of podcasts about all things related to printmaking, and Tru Ludwig interview me about my newly published Second Edition of THE MEZZOTINT, the history of mezzotint as both an artiorm and industry, and my work. The first of this two-part series can be heard at either www.platemarkpodcast.com/s3e52-carol-wax or on YouTube https://youtu.be/VT_Pl5amizc. The second part is available starting March 26th at www.platemarkpodcast.com/s3e53-carol-wax or https://youtu.be/fCHEDDayuVw

CURRENT and UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

In celebration of the publication of the Second Edition of THE MEZZOTINT: HISTORY AND TECHNIQUE, Childs Gallery in Boston is presenting a solo show of my mezzotint engravings. Prints in the exhibit, titled CAROL WAX: EXTRAORDINARY OBJECTS, span several decades of my career. The exhibit opens April 5th and runs through May 24th, and copies of the book will also be available for sale. For more information, contact childsgallery.com. To read the Press Release, click on Carol Wax_Press Release.pdf

Thanks to Cate McQuaid for the shout-out in The Boston Globe!!

UPCOMING WORKSHOPS

I’ll be presenting a two-day workshop, titled LINE TO TONE: HONE YOUR DRYPOINT SKILLS at Zea Mays Printmaking on June 22 and 23rd. Zea Mays specializes in non-toxic approaches to printmaking, offering a creative environment in the beautiful Northampton area of Massachusetts.

Drypoint is one of the most versatile and direct intaglio printmaking methods. Often thought of as a mainly linear technique, it encompasses a wide range of mark-making methods for creating linear, tonal and textural images. This workshop offers instruction on various approaches to drypoint and the opportunity to use an array of tools and materials for working spontaneously on copper plates using both additive and deductive approaches. Demonstrations include plate-wiping techniques to take full advantage of the drypoint burr, and color printing methods. Although no acid will be used, artists interested in using drypoint to enhance their etchings are welcome to bring etched plates, while everyone is invited to bring their imagination. For more information, use this link to visit the Zea Mays website

https://www.zeamaysprintmaking.com/event/line-to-tone-hone-your-drypoint-skills/

RECENTLY PUBLISHED MEZZOTINTS

I love sumptuously designed textiles in both real life and art. Patterns metamorphosing over fabric folds appeal to my interest in modulating rhythmic forms, particularly the swells and swirls of calligraphic stripes. I’m also fascinated by articulated wooden hand models, which appear in many of my paintings. Combining these passions with sewing paraphernalia from my seamstress days provided inspiration for my color mezzotint engraving Sew What.

If current events have taught us anything, it’s that small, seemingly inconsequential things may contain very large and grave dangers. A single lie loosed from even an innocuous source can grow and grow. Once its talons show, there’s no containing it or its consequences.

NEW PAINTINGS and DRAWINGS

Trilling reflects my continued fascination with articulated hand models, automatons and player pianos, and the use of repeated patterns to suggest movement and sound.

I have a huge collection of binder clips that are indispensable for taming the mounds of papers on my desk and organizing my life in general. Their sculptural possibilities also fascinate and inspire me.

I love early 17th century Spanish still life images, especially trompe l’oeil paintings containing food delicacies hanging from strings (a common preservation method at the time) by Juan Sanchez Cotan. Inspired by this work, I assembled objects in my studio associated with different meanings of light or lightness (feathers found on walks in the woods, an antique lightbulb from a Broadway marquee, a blimp Christmas ornament, a paper airplane, and my grandmother’s tortoise shell lorgnette), and framed them within an imaginary box to create this gouache painting titled “Light Box.”

Two rocking horses rescued from the street sat idle for years on a high shelf in my studio, waiting to be used as models for an image. Having never found an interesting way to use them, I finally decided to return them to the street whence they came. But, when I attempted to move them, it seems one of the horses was made of a material that literally disintegrated when touched, causing it to break into many pieces. Seeing the shapes of the shards strewn across my studio floor, I exclaimed, IT JUST GOT INTERESTING!!