Mirrored - Mason Matteson

Mason Matteson -

My body of work really had no goal beginning year one. The class was really just going to be a fun period where I could just experiment with new mediums and play with tools that ai wouldn’t otherwise have access to if I weren’t in the studio. But after some time, I rediscovered Linoleum printmaking. I had used the medium before, and once I picked it back up, I knew what I wanted to do for my body of work. I know that this is something that I enjoy, and something that will continuously challenge my skills. I also want to make the body of work somewhat eerie, keeping it mostly monotone, and having a motif of skulls and spooky things littered throughout the pieces. I want to make it obvious that my skills level has increased by the end of the body of work, and I plan to do this by including some less than perfect pieces, and some pieces that I am very proud of the outcome of.

One thing that I try to incorporate into my body of work is mixed media. While I have a few pieces that are solely printed, I am making quite a few pieces of mixed media art as well. The combination of printmaking and other media in my opinion makes for more dynamic pieces, that have a bit more movement and flow, than that of just a print. It gives a piece depth and makes them a lot more visually different, they stand out from the other pieces. I believe that this also challenges my skills in a different way, and makes sure that I’m not a one-trick pony. Another one of the themes that are present in my body of work is skulls. Skulls are present in “Smoogle’s Hat Shop,” a video game-inspired piece, as well as “Sunflower,” a piece I made for my mother who is severely lacking in sunflowers. There are more than a few present in the work “Untitled 2,” a mixed media piece, combining collage and printmaking. From that piece, I also take the idea of crossing off one of the eyes of the main subject of the pieces, shown in “Sunflower,” “If I have to go, Please let it be in the Trees,” and the above mentioned “Untitled 2.”

As you can see, my art has changed and evolved. Become more skillful and fine-tuned. I have honed in on a craft, and am still learning how to do with it what I want. I have created some signatures, like the X over the eyes, and the incorporation of skulls whenever and where ever I can. The pieces are grouped in a way that the viewer can see the progression of my skill. I believe that the viewer can clearly see where I begin to get more confident in my skills. When themes begin, and how that translates to other pieces. I plan to continue to make prints, continue to challenge myself, continue to explore how to mix media effectively and make pieces that I enjoy. There is still so much to learn about printmaking. There are still things about my own technique that I can make better and build upon. I am very excited to continue this journey, figure things out, waste a lot of ink, tear linoleum, cut my finger with carving tools, and smudge proofs.

Untitled 1

The goal of this piece was to experiment with printmaking. This is the first time that I had picked up a carving tool and a brayer since the 7th grade, and so this piece is really important because it reignited my love of the craft. I also was feeling very down and out at the time of making this, so the semicolon is present in many places and is the main subject of the print itself.

Untitled 2

For this piece, I have refined and honed in on the skill of making prints, and this is the first serious one that I have made, the first one that I am super happy with as well. I also continued with the collage that I've been practicing. I tried to incorporate somewhat dark and eery imagery, and contrast it with other things that were nice and pleasant, like the flower coming out of the gun in the hand of the lady on the right.

If I Have to Go, Please Let it Be in The Trees

I decided to branch out of my comfort zone, while also sticking to it slightly. I used yarn to create the background, while also layering the pieces of cardboard to give the piece a little bit more depth than if it were all on one layer. I want to make something peaceful, but eye catching. I wanted to include red yarn coming from the bottom of the torso as well, to give the impression that he was missing his bottom half, but I didn't think that it would embody the peace I wanted to portray.

Flash Sheet: American Traditional

This piece has been a real challenge. My technique flaws really showed in the creation of this piece. The transfer of the sketches to the linoleum was rough, to say the least. This led to a difficult time carving. But I believe that my adoration for American traditional style tattooing, as well as printmaking, was married beautifully in this piece, and will lead to more pieces like this in the future.

Geometry,

After creating some pieces that really made my head spin and made me want to throw my carving tool across the room, I needed something chill and easy, but that would still challenge my skills in printmaking. Geometry is an exploration of patterns as well as texture. The squares follow a strict pattern, however are shown falling off of that pattern and into space. This piece is simple, yet loud.

Sunflower,

Sunflower is one of the more ambitious pieces that I have created this year. The scale of the print is not one that I am usually used to, the large piece with lots of dead space. It differs from my usual small and detailed pieces, transferring into a large and simple print, but with lots of different components, as well as incorporating some of the major themes that are present throughout the body of work. This one’s for you momma.

Smoogle

Smoogle is one of my favorite creations to come out of this year. Based on a doodle from English class and a long funny conversation with a friend, we decided that this little guy would be perfect as an NPC in a video game. The skulls pictured, are the trophies he’s collected over the years. This piece was another fun and chill piece after some frustrating times and other annoying pieces and is really a fun one to look at.