Mary Bookwalter
Mixed media Art
Growing up in Kansas I have always felt a kinship with wide open places. The hills and grasslands with distant prairie horizons that extended west from my home still fascinate and envelope me as if seeing them again for the first time. As a child I made maps of the imaginary places I thought filled that expansive space so it comes as no surprise that most of my work takes the form of altered landscapes. The prints illuminate where I come from and where I feel at home.
However, there are times when the road I am following is not always so clear. I’ve hiked many trails and pathways in the west and sometimes, as I crossed a wash-out or particularly rugged stretch of boulders, the trail would just disappear. There I often found way markers in the form of a stack of rocks, a cairn placed by someone who passed ahead of me. The marker was a way of pointing out the trail, though it was invisible at this particular place on the road. At this point in my life I want to explore those stone messages on uncertain paths, and to find where the trail again enters the trees.
Since the 1970’s Mary Bookwalter has created prints that quietly imply an earthy direction and invite the close-up attention of the viewer. Her work often depicts altered landscapes, maps and symbols which tell a story of a love for the land with ink, paper and press.
Although trained in traditional printmaking methods, her work of the last decade has moved toward mixed media mono prints and short editions. The prints incorporate many print techniques including digital technology, direct scans, photography, and image manipulation. However, small edition reduction woodcuts remain her favorite venue.
Bookwalter is known in the Chicago community for her colorful prints and drawings which she shows regionally and nationally and is in numerous private and university collections. Recently retired from her position as University Professor of Art at Governors State University in Illinois where she taught printmaking, drawing and design since 1985, she retains her interest in safe printmaking technology by embracing non-toxic procedures in her studio practice.
Originally from Kansas, Bookwalter earned a MFA in printmaking and drawing from Northern Illinois University, an MA in printmaking from Eastern Illinois University, and a BSE from Emporia State University in Kansas. Besides her dedication to printmaking, other interests include pinhole photography and artist books.
Mixed media Art
Growing up in Kansas I have always felt a kinship with wide open places. The hills and grasslands with distant prairie horizons that extended west from my home still fascinate and envelope me as if seeing them again for the first time. As a child I made maps of the imaginary places I thought filled that expansive space so it comes as no surprise that most of my work takes the form of altered landscapes. The prints illuminate where I come from and where I feel at home.
However, there are times when the road I am following is not always so clear. I’ve hiked many trails and pathways in the west and sometimes, as I crossed a wash-out or particularly rugged stretch of boulders, the trail would just disappear. There I often found way markers in the form of a stack of rocks, a cairn placed by someone who passed ahead of me. The marker was a way of pointing out the trail, though it was invisible at this particular place on the road. At this point in my life I want to explore those stone messages on uncertain paths, and to find where the trail again enters the trees.
Since the 1970’s Mary Bookwalter has created prints that quietly imply an earthy direction and invite the close-up attention of the viewer. Her work often depicts altered landscapes, maps and symbols which tell a story of a love for the land with ink, paper and press.
Although trained in traditional printmaking methods, her work of the last decade has moved toward mixed media mono prints and short editions. The prints incorporate many print techniques including digital technology, direct scans, photography, and image manipulation. However, small edition reduction woodcuts remain her favorite venue.
Bookwalter is known in the Chicago community for her colorful prints and drawings which she shows regionally and nationally and is in numerous private and university collections. Recently retired from her position as University Professor of Art at Governors State University in Illinois where she taught printmaking, drawing and design since 1985, she retains her interest in safe printmaking technology by embracing non-toxic procedures in her studio practice.
Originally from Kansas, Bookwalter earned a MFA in printmaking and drawing from Northern Illinois University, an MA in printmaking from Eastern Illinois University, and a BSE from Emporia State University in Kansas. Besides her dedication to printmaking, other interests include pinhole photography and artist books.
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