This post was written by Joslyn Rogers, 2018 Mono Lake Intern and 2018–2020 Project Specialist.
The Mono Lake Committee Bookstore & Information Center is in good shape these days—not only are the floors freshly refinished, but we also have a gallery filled with new artwork from the talented Stephanie Martin.
Stephanie is a painter and printmaker who lives along the California coast. Her artwork pays homage to the diversity and fascinating design of plants and birds. It is especially fitting to display Stephanie’s artwork here in the Committee gallery—she worked here as an intern with David & Sally Gaines in 1979.
Stephanie’s unique art incorporates etching, a form of intaglio printmaking. First she sketches her subject, usually birds and nests at natural history museums (or sometimes at the Committee’s bookstore), and then she captures the image on a copper plate which is then used as a matrix for painting. She coats the plate with an acid-resistant ground, scribes through the coating to expose the metal, and submerges the plate in acid. This creates grooves that hold ink and print as lines. After the line work has been established, textural areas are created on the plate to produce tones in a method called aquatint. Because each piece is inked by hand, there are slight variations, making each intaglio print of hers an original piece of art.
We hope to see you in the gallery at the Mono Lake Committee Information Center & Bookstore where Stephanie’s beautiful paintings will be up until the end of July. Make sure to mark your calendars for an evening reception we’ll be holding for Stephanie and her show on Saturday, July 27th from 5:00 to 7:00pm.
