Vanessa Lanza is a PNW-based printmaker and mixed media artist working out of her home studio in Gig Harbor, WA. She began nurturing her artistic side at a very young age; her mother is a collector of Japanese etching/woodblock prints and she grew up surrounded by incredible pieces of art. Vanessa then focused on art classes in high school, and was determined to go to art school, but after an international trip as a teen, she found herself pulled toward a career in international humanitarian work. Her return to art came later as she settled into new rhythms of motherhood and family. Vanessa states; “It has been a full circle journey for me and I am so happy to have found my way back to my artistic practice. I have felt so embraced by the enormous community of creatives locally and online. I feel so lucky to be able to do what I love.”
Finding endless inspiration for her art in the unique and natural landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, Vanessa’s artistic process involves using natural elements and locally foraged objects, so that nature is not only the subject of a piece, but also plays an integral role in the creation of it. “As a printmaker, this is particularly exciting because there is a direct storytelling aspect to it, as I am allowing natural elements and processes to shape the outcome of a piece,” comments the artist.
Vanessa’s relief prints are hand-pulled directly from locally salvaged tree stumps, each tree ring telling the story of what that tree lived through. They carry stories, memories, and wisdom beyond human comprehension. Cracks and changes in the wood over time reveal new and exciting patterns with each print.
Her landscape monotypes also incorporate woodgrain taken directly from salvaged tree sections. In these pieces, Vanessa conveys the ubiquitous, life-giving presence of trees in the Pacific Northwest.
Similarly, when creating cyanotypes, she utilises foraged and decaying leaves, ocean water, seaweed, sand, and other found objects. Traces of these elements often remain and become part of the artwork. For her ocean cyanotype series, Vanessa dips the paper in ocean water (sometimes right at the beach, other times bringing the water back to her studio). She then adds salt, sand, and other found items onto the paper depending on the effect she is aiming for. After she exposes, rinses, and develops the paper, Vanessa will often repeat the process, adding more solution to areas she wants darker, then timing her second exposure accordingly. Alternatively, she will lighten or tone areas with a bleaching agent, coffee, tea or turmeric. The results are completely unique and made with local natural elements.
Vanessa often incorporates her relief prints and cyanotypes into her mixed media work as well. She says; “It is thrilling to me to see pieces come together. I save scraps and bits of cyanotypes and tree prints knowing that their full potential is still yet to manifest itself.”
www.arbolartsnorthwest.com
@arbol_arts_northwest
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