Hey there! I’m Shasta
A creatively curious human who is on an ongoing exploration of all things creative.
Growing up in a small South Dakota town, creatives surrounded me. My mom sews and quilts, and my grandmothers sewed, crocheted, knitted, embroidered, etc. My father loved DIY and woodworking and even explored oil painting alongside episodes of Bob Ross. I have an aunt who is an oil painter and a great uncle who made stunning pencil-drawn portraits. I was a creative kid, spending my birthday money on pencil sets, oil pastels, and paper. I dove into any arts and crafts project I could get my hands on, and I credit this to a long line of creatives before me. I am one of the few whose childhood curiosity for all things creative was fed and encouraged by those around me and not stifled. I will be forever grateful for that.
I’m a self-taught artist. I google and YouTube my way through my artistic adventures, take classes from other artists when possible, and craft the creative life I love in my small home studio, mainly by staying curious and just giving things that interest me a try, even when I haven’t a clue what I’m getting myself into.
When I am not working my full-time job or creating art to share with you here, I feed my other hobbies, which include DIY, gardening, cooking, and flower arranging. One of the most significant creative projects I have ever tackled is renovating a 1908 Victorian cottage, a passion project, if you will.😊
The majority of the art for sale here falls into the category of “printmaking.” However, I have dabbled in digital art and watercolor, too. (I'm curiously creative, remember😉) You’ll quickly discover that flowers are my biggest inspiration.
What is Printmaking?
Using a carved material covered in ink to transfer an image onto paper, fabric or other surfaces.
Printmaking is a form of art where the artist uses techniques such as engraving, etching, lithography, and screen printing to create an image or design on paper or other materials. The artist will create a design by drawing it by hand or using a printing plate, then transfer the inked design to a substrate (paper or other material). This process can be repeated multiple times to create multiple prints of the same design. Printmaking is an excellent way for artists to make multiple copies of their artwork and explore different colors, textures, and layer options with their designs.
So far, my work has focused chiefly on Relief printing, also known as block printing or Linocut printing. Printmaking techniques have been around for thousands of years. Some evidence shows it existed as early as the fifth century BC. Different forms have been found all over the world, and their roots are in India, China, and Japan.
Due to the long history, there are LOTS of different techniques.
Blocks can be carved from wood, linoleum, rubber, and other materials. So far, I’ve only experimented with linoleum and rubber block carving.
If you are curious about the process and would like to explore it further, click here to read a blog post on the topic or here to watch a video.
