October Featured MCA Member: Jaime Wing
Maine Crafts Association member Jaime Wing has been an artist at heart from the start. The fine artist and graphic designer creates work that is raw and inspiring, often using recycled and repurposed materials, inspired by the natural world around him, all the things that make us human, and our relationships with nature.
Maine Crafts Association member Jaime Wing has been an artist at heart from the start. The fine artist and graphic designer creates work that is raw and inspiring, often using recycled and repurposed materials, inspired by the natural world around him, all the things that make us human, and our relationships with nature.
Q & A with Jaime Wing
Q: What inspired you to learn the craft of printmaking?
A: So, when I went to college I was completely undecided as to what to do with my life. All I knew was that I wanted to do something creative. I tried various mediums, from watercolors to digital art. Finally, when I took my first printmaking class – stone lithography – something clicked. I fell in love with the texture and physicality of making a print by hand. Any modern printmaker will tell
you, it’s all about the process. In this day and age, anyone can use modern technology to make a near-perfect print. For me, there’s something grounding and special about a print made by human hands, no computers involved. If I ever feel like I’m stuck in a fog of social media malaise, that “analog groundedness” kind of has a healing effect for me. That, and there are so many types of printmaking processes, I can’t possibly get bored with it.
Q: Printmaking has very diverse/vast tools and supplies to choose from. Which are your favorites to use?
A: My go-to tool of choice is a medium V-gouge carving tool, with which I typically go to town on some cheap plywood. I have to admit, my prints wouldn’t come out half as good if I didn’t have access to the awesome, powerful presses that I do at Pickwick Independent Press. I have a lot of fun with their Vandercook press; I can print antique wood type with that, which unlocks a whole
other world of print possibilities.
Q: What’s the best piece of professional advice you’ve ever received?
A: One of my dad’s best friends, who happens to be an art teacher, once told me that anyone with good ideas has great art in them – they just need to draw 1000 ugly drawings first. He might have used more colorful language than that, but that idea stuck with me. Not everything you make is amazing, and that’s okay! Just keep making lots of stuff so you can edit out the not-so-great first attempts.
Q: Where do you look for inspiration?
A: Inspiration can honestly come from anywhere, so I stay open and make lots of notes. A lot of the time, I get inspired by the material I’m working with itself. If you tune in to what’s around you, there are so many interesting textures, shapes and colors. I really love animals and nature, so you’ll see those themes in a lot of my work, as well as LGBTQ culture and identity, connected to my own experience as a queer man.
Q: What is your dream project?
A: I am an avid tea drinker, and someday I’m going to make my own tea blends based on a series of my prints! I want to collaborate with a ceramicist to print my images onto mugs and make a whole brand around it. So many ideas…
Q: Though you’re known to us for your prints, is there another medium you enjoy? Are there any you’d like to know more about?
A: Oh yeah, so many. I love learning new skills to possibly incorporate into my practice. This past year I got into leather tooling and embroidery, and took a workshop in candle making and basket weaving. I’m a lifelong learner, and you never know when a new skill might come in handy. I also make a hobby of digital painting and illustration, which is a fun way to get my ideas down quickly.
Q: What advice do you have for novice or future printmakers?
A: Try it all! Intaglio, screen printing, block printing, offset – it’s all different, and fun to combine. Learn the traditional, formal rules – each printmaking medium has them – and then once you have them down, break ‘em!
View a selection of Jaime’s work at Shop Maine Craft gallery Maine Craft Portland, and visit www.wingedprints.com to learn more about the artist as well as his upcoming exhibitions, news, updates, and workshops; and to view his online shop + gallery.
Contact our Membership Coordinator: suzzanne@mainecrafts.org for your chance to be featured!