Artist Spotlight
Debra Olin
Olin is a Massachusetts-based visual artist. She has participated in BIG INK on multiple occasions over the years, most recently at New Impressions Print Studio.
Life In the Arts
My MFA is in ceramics. I never took a printmaking class in college, but after I graduated, I needed to find a medium that was easier to explore in the city. My love of clay was a love of fire, large gas-fired kilns, salt kilns, and raku. I started taking some printmaking workshops and immediately saw a connection between the ink and the clay. One obvious parallel was using the material to make an impression, but there was more. There was the collaboration with the equipment – in ceramics it was giving the clay up to the kiln, in printmaking it was surrendering your work to the press. I was immediately hooked and continue finding joy (and also frustration) every time I pull a print.
My studio is in the Mad Oyster Building in Somerville, MA. I also run small printmaking workshops for friends’ night out and corporate team building under Mad Oyster Ink.
Printmaking and Process
After taking a few workshops, I was off and running with basic printmaking techniques, mostly monoprint and drypoint. My love is with textures, layering and collage. After cleaning out my grandparent’s apartment, I started printing Granny Ethel’s garments, inking the plate, laying down the lace, brocade or eyelet dresses and running them through the press. It was magical! Every thread, stitch and dart came through, as though is was an x-ray. This process began in the early 90’s and I am still constantly looking for and using texture to this day.
BIG INK
Somewhere I saw a post about BIG INK. Maybe it was through the Boston Printmakers. I had never carved a woodblock, but I loved looking at them and I would marvel at how the artist used line, shape, and most of all texture to convey space and delineate the composition. I love working large and I was up for a challenge. I recruited a printmaking friend to sign up too and we kept each other on track. This was in 2016. Lyell did not yet have the BIG TUNA. The group all met at AS220 in Providence to print.
The Carving Journey
The process was daunting! I had a 72x36inch slab of birch plywood and 2 months. I cut myself a lot! Besides the actual carving challenges, I started wondering what I was doing? I am not an edition printer and here I was devoting endless hours to make a block. I couldn’t make one print. That would be crazy! The exciting outcome was realizing how many ways I could use the elements of the print. I printed backgrounds in different colors and textures, I copied the woodblock composition into stencils and reprinted the shapes as monoprints. Later, when I made more blocks, I cut out areas and collaged different elements together. Instead of feeling constrained by a stationary block, there was no end to the possibilities!
The Meetup & Printing Together
Unlike the experience in 2016, in 2025 I signed up for a second BIG INK day at New Impressions Studio in Somerville, MA. This location was much more convenient. It was also more spacious and we had the BIG TUNA! I love the collaborative printing experience. It is so cool to meet all the artists and to see their blocks. I also love witnessing the “big reveal”, when the inked block is finally transformed into a beautiful print. Also, there is such great spirit in the room. Everyone knows we are doing something amazing and important, being together and making art!
The Final Print & What’s Next
I have to say that I have been very happy with my compositions in the 2 prints I made with BIG INK, but not 100% satisfied with my carving. I have made 5 – 72 x 36 inch woodcuts since I started this series and none of them were up to my expectations on the first try. It is a lot of carving and my patience and my stamina didn’t rise to the deadline. However, I did go back in after the BIG INK print day and clean them up and print again. I hope this is helpful for others who are hesitant to move forward or feel like giving up.
I have recently started playing with combining printmaking with cyanotype and using prints from this series. It’s a little crazy because of the size, but it is great fun experimenting in this new direction.
On The Horizon
I continue to experiment with printmaking, currently making body prints with carborundum. From March 6 – April 29 I will be participating in a group exhibition at A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton, MA. The reception for INTUITION EXCHANGE is Friday, March 13, 5-8. There will be an online forum on Wednesday, March 18, 7:30. Artists include: Marianne Connolly, Barbara Hadden, Debra Olin and Virginia Sandman (curator).
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