Natural Echoes

Repetition is tedious. Repetition can be freeing. As artists, doing the same thing repetitively does not necessarily yield identical results. Whether you’re looking at the same subject, using the same materials, or continuously following the same process, repetition provides a base for exploration and creative nuances. The natural world provides an endless supply of inspiration for the beauty that exists in its natural symmetry and patterns. If you spend enough time with anything, you become intimately aware of its essence and the qualities that stand out. 

In this exhibition, both Abby and Andrea have explored new iterations of familiar parts of their practices. The solo works were printed synchronously and remotely from one another. Abby has been creating botanical monoprints, experimenting with positive and negative space. Her textural pieces feature botanical elements that alternate between dancing in the foreground and fading into the background. The forms in Andrea’s prints take on a bold sense of whimsy that brings a playful energy to ubiquitous parts of nature that she finds on the sidewalk. 

There are two collaborative prints in the center of this show to illustrate the harmony between the disparate practices of the artists. In past shows, this process of printing on top of one another’s work has been a way to rethink the ways that forms, processes and materials interact within a composition. The solo works act as echoes of the layers of the collaborations.

Andrea McCallum is a Guelph based artist working in printmaking, sculpture and digital media. Creating work through processes in sculpture and printmaking, Andrea enters the space between the natural and metaphysical in the everyday. Rather than reference images, she captures the essence of elements of nature from her daily walks directly onto lino blocks. Her healing and artistic practices overlap for some projects, allowing experiences of the subtle senses a physical embodiment. Connecting with the energy of nature, people, and places adds an emotional layer to her prints.

Abby Lichti is an interdisciplinary artist, based in the Region of Waterloo. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art and Psychology through the University of Guelph. Her work and process often includes printmaking, drawing, and photographic references, with a soft spot for textiles. She finds inspiration in private everyday life encounters, through nature, domesticity, and photographic references intuitively captured throughout her day, that translate to collective human emotions and experiences.