Back in 2015, living in Vancouver, Kat Goetz of Blue Chisel studio felt stuck; tired of working dead end jobs and living in the city. Just as she started talking about selling her house, giving up her job, and going on a road trip to explore North America, a grey heron started hanging around her house. Herons were especially unusual in her area, yet this one stalked Kat for days. It seemed even weirder after a quick google search told her that, according to the mythology of North America’s indigenous people, seeing a heron before any kind of journey means only one thing, huge success; “random coincidence? The universe sending a message? Some people thought we were crazy, but we took that heron as a sign. Goodbye old life, hello new adventure: the Heron’s Quest“.
Kat drove around North America in an old Ford pickup with a camper on its shoulders, homeless and rootless, for over a year. She dodged cities, and stuck to back roads and remote places. “The big touristy sites most people visit wouldn’t let our dogs in, so we found less known but equally beautiful spots” describes the artist.
Already a printmaker back then, and an artist for most of her life, Kat had a Fine Arts degree from the University of BC. She has been in love with printmaking, specifically reduction prints since 2007, pulling inspiration from the urban environment, folklore of the Czech Republic where she was born, and parts of nature. On the road, hiking through incredible surroundings almost every day, nature’s power was the one constant that she experienced. Kat took thousands of photos, knowing they’d shape her future work.
“Why reduction prints? Because I love the challenge of pulling multiple layers and colours from a single block that’s carved away to near nothing in the process. It’s risky but hugely rewarding. No safety net, you plan and jump in, the block destroyed in direct proportion to the print’s development. With no going back if you screw up, each print is, always, a leap of faith. Maybe that’s why I love it – I’m used to taking leaps of faith though it helps when a heron shows up.”
Now residing in a remote community in the interior of BC, The Heron’s Quest that brought her there now drives her latest work. At home Kat has two creative spaces in the house: a bright attic, where she develops ideas and carves, and a basement print studio, where her Blick etching press, ‘Blue Max’, lives. Her inks of choice are Aqua Intaglio, which are perfect for her landscape prints and creating the painterly look that characterises her work. Kat has created a couple of prints inspired by the mountains and wilderness that surround her new home, but her main focus is her Heron Road series. The project is a series of reduction prints based on the gorgeous places she passed through, and to date includes 20 prints of the Canadian half of the trip. She is currently beginning to work on recreating the second, American half, part of her adventure.
@katgoetz.bluechiselstudio
www.bluechiselstudio.com/
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