Alicia McKim - "Hortus"

Hi- I'm Alicia McKim, an artist and art educator living in Denver, Colorado, and I want to tell you a little about my artwork in this exhibition entitled Hortus.

Hortus investigates the garden as a metaphor for our planet. Successful gardeners regard their plots holistically. They consider the environment and plan a space where plants will enhance one another; they amend the soil, nurture, and tend the patch to help it reach its full potential. 

The organic imagery and color palette of the monoprints formed into a cylinder shape are reminiscent of the Roman column and allude to the relationship between nature and humankind.

The woodcut monoprints are printed on Japanese Kozo paper using oil-based inks. This process is very fluid, and I work on several prints simultaneously until I feel each print is complete.

The idea of stitching together nine large monoprints and then cutting them into 5-inch squares considers the Earth from its most minor elements to create a larger whole. 

I hope you enjoyed the piece. Thanks for listening.