Weezard Prints

Mya Giuliani is the wizard behind Weezard Prints. A process-oriented printmaker, Mya works mostly in reduction and jigsaw linocut, as well as dabbling in woodcut, serigraphy, and letterpress. The name ‘Weezard Prints’ is inspired by a few things; Mya’s deep and abiding love for Magic: The Gathering; their self-described status as a “printomancer”; and their Instagram handle, @campgroundwizard. Mya tells us; “Now sometimes people come up to me and ask, ‘Are you the wizard?’ which is the coolest thing in the world.”

Although Mya studied Arts Administration with a minor in Fine Art, they are completely self-taught when it comes to printmaking. A close friend and creative collaborator gifted Mya her carving tools (a Japanese Power Grip set of 5, which they still use today) and they began carving and printing from their college apartment in 2017. Mya comments; “I printed somewhat prolifically in addition to other art until I was invited to showcase at Inkcurds in 2022, at which point I began to focus solely on my print career and invested significantly in my skills and materials.” In 2024, Mya moved from their small basement studio to a large main-floor space, and is currently in the process of transitioning from part-time to full-time printing.

“My creative process is all about continuity- projects endlessly linking into another, and another, and another. I’m inspired a lot by the mundane- objects, buildings, signs,” says the printmaker. For example, Mya’s current long-term project, Pace Car, features signs, mostly dilapidated, of businesses that they see from their car. The project focuses on the detachment between the viewer behind the windshield and the urban decay outside, in juxtaposition with the intimacy and time-intensive labour of printmaking. Mya states; “Drawing something, printing something, especially a 5 or 6 colour reduction, requires a huge amount of time looking at a subject- much longer than most roadside signs are meant to be observed.”

Mya typically creates their designs digitally using Procreate, or by hand with pencil and paper. They print primarily on their 1950s Nolan #2 proof press, which was restored by a printmaker in Baraboo, Wisconsin. Mya also frequently prints with their Woodzilla press, and by hand with a baren or found object, like their favourite glass candle jar. They recycle any scraps into rough handmade paper that is frequently showcased in their work.

Telling us more about what inspires them, Mya comments; “Print as a medium requires and enables an aspect of communication that I feel other art forms don’t necessarily capture, and I’m very influenced by gig posters, handbills, other type-heavy works. When I set out to create a print I incorporate type more often than not. I’m also heavily inspired by fantasy- I am the wizard, after all.”

Mya also looks to the community around them for inspiration, and their work is supported by their relationships in the printmaking community in Milwaukee, notably David DaSilva and Francisco Ramirez. Every year Mya always looks forward to Inkcurds, the Midwest printmaking showcase, where they have a chance to connect and talk shop in addition to showcasing work. Mya describes; “I’m very community-oriented, I’ve built countless relationships with other artists in my area, and manage a small-art vending machine called The Wizard’s Print Snacks that vends exclusively art made locally, mostly by my friends, some making art to sell for the very first time.”

@campgroundwizard
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