Jim Powlan

artist statement

There are several reoccurring themes in my work one of the most important to me is color and texture. My hope is that all my images will create peacefulness, serenity and balance in the viewer by giving them a feeling of something old yet new.

I’m a blend of Asian and European descendants and that is carried into my art. I blend traditional European etching techniques (Intaglio) with traditional Japanese scroll mounting. I add my modern sense of design, with clean and direct elements, to this complex art form. The results are contemporary and always one-of-a-kind. Each piece is a completely handcrafted work of art full of color and texture.

Each piece, while modern, is created using an ancient process – copper etching. I start with polished copper plates which for me represent new life and how perfect it is. I then etch ( age ) my plates in acid for 24 hours, one hour at a time. This simulates the bumps and bruises, highs and lows of life creating deep relief images etched in to the plate. As in life itself each plate and print tells its own story.

Printing is the final stage. I hand ink the plates and then lay dampened Japanese silk on them. They are then rolled through my printing press with many hundreds of pounds of pressure; the image is virtually embossed onto the silk. I will only print an image between one to three times but each is one of a kind as they are printed on different types of silk or with different color inks.