Self-taught artist and printmaker, Mary Ann Testagrossa, lives in the Pacific Northwest in California. After moving to California from New York in her early twenties, Mary Ann started studying watercolour painting at a junior college close by, initiating her 20 year love affair with painting. Mary Ann displayed and sold her watercolours both locally and nationally, in many exhibits, galleries and fairs over two decades. However, she wanted to broaden her creative practice, and decided to try jewellery making. Once again, Mary Ann participated in college courses and lots of self studying, and sold her jewellery online and at vendor fairs. Three years ago, the artist decided to make another switch to her creative path, and began linocut printmaking.
“I had just started my first Instagram account, and I was looking at other artist’s work, and what really fascinated me was linocut printmaking. I had tried it two times in the past and really disliked the medium, but I saw so many artists doing really beautiful work, I thought I would give it one more try. When I began, I was challenged a lot, trying to figure out what materials were the best to use, and how to use them. But I was also drawn to the medium like a magnet. That’s what kept me going. Now I am three years into this process. I am still learning so much, and there is much to learn. THAT is something that I really like about printing.”
Inspired by her three cats, Mary Ann’s work regularly depicts the feline form. Her inspiration also comes from the natural world, flora and fauna, and plants and animals. At the beginning of her linocut venture she was particularly inspired by the work of Ellen Von Weigand, who was a large influence on her technique and style of printing. Ellen is a UK-based contemporary printmaker whose simple carving style is more like line drawing. She creates outlines of shapes and forms, and adds patterns and beautiful colours to them. Another printmaker that influenced her technique was another contemporary printer, Lili Arnold. When Mary Ann started, Lili was using the Speedball Speedy Carve block which she cut up into puzzle pieces to create multi colour prints. Thus, she followed her lead, and started producing multi colour prints.
At the beginning of her linocut journey, Mary Ann was using water based inks and Speedy Carve blocks. However, after much experimentation she now uses oil based Calico Safewash inks, which she can clean up with soap and water. “They are superior in color and coverage to any water based ink I have tried” states the printmaker. For paper, she prefers a thick printing paper, influenced by her background in watercolour painting, and predominantly uses 300lb Stonehenge paper in a range of colours. In her printmaking studio she currently has three small presses; an Xcut Xpress (die cut machine), a larger etching press, and a tortilla press. She also has a Wood Zilla press on the way which she will use to create larger prints with ease.
When not working on her linocuts, Mary Ann works as a consultant at the Small Business Development Center, a government agency, advising artists on how to create an art based business. Wanting to continue growing as a print artist, Mary Ann hopes to learn different techniques for producing multi coloured prints, and discover more about available materials, paints, papers, and tools. She concludes “Linocut printing is exciting. There are lots of different techniques to try. I still have so much to learn. That’s part of what keeps bringing me back to exploring this medium“.
www.maryanntestagrossaart.com
@maryanntestagrossaart
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