Print Exchange 2023: Monique Wales

Working primarily in relief and intaglio printmaking, Monique Wales’ artwork is largely nature-inspired, particularly by the magnificent mountain areas in and around Yosemite. She hopes to impart to her audience the importance of wild spaces and shine a light on their increasingly threatened inhabitants. She strives to bring the feelings of peacefulness, serenity and wonder she experiences when witnessing the world outside our walls. Printmaking involves nearly all the senses, from the tactile carving of the wood or linoleum in a relief print, to the sound of the needle working a copper etching, the smell of the studio when mixing up the ink, and of course, the visual revelation as the image slowly emerges on the paper, layer by layer, through the work of the press or her hand-held baren. Monique finds the meditative, time-consuming and intricate nature of this centuries-old medium enhances the experience of creation in her works.