The stunning photopolymer prints of Hailey Walsh are the sort of thing that can best be appreciated as a series, and I love the way she takes a single image of a small object, a gem-like faceted block of wood, and repeats, overlays, skews, and colors it in to build a series of almost endless possibilities. They are simple, modest even, and yet the bold shapes, vivid contrast and bright interspersed colors give them a striking edge.
Walsh, who studied at Colorado College, explores numerous methods of printmaking, from silkscreen to letterpress, and her style is varied and edgy — there are several of her monoprints that I also really enjoy for their bold lines and contrast. Printmaking is such a versatile artistic method–there are so many ways to approach it, and it can range from letterpress cards to gigantic wall-size works with almost everything imaginable in between. There are so many processes that can be employed, for example with etchings, the plates for which can be worked and reworked to produce almost endless states. Walsh really takes the initiative to explore all that printmaking can do, and the various methods open up a lot of possibilities and variations in her style.
More work can be found on Walsh’s website at haileywalsh.weebly.com and some of her prints are also for sale in her Etsy shop.
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