About the Artist

 

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Linda graduated with a BA in studio art from Pomona College in Claremont, CA in 1978. She studied silkscreen printmaking at the UCLA extension and produced silkscreen editions as a member of a serigraph workshop run by Evelyn B. Johnson in Southern California. After moving to the Bay Area, Linda joined the Lafayette Printmaking Workshop with Sherry Smith Bell and experimented with various printmaking techniques using water-soluble inks. 

 

In 2007 Linda built her own studio in San Ramon and has expanded her printmaking to include solarplate etchings, collagraphs, and mixed media prints. Her artwork is in many personal and corporate collections across the country including the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., Kaiser Permanente, Eden Medical Center, and El Camino Hospital Foundation in California. She shows at Valley Art Gallery in Walnut Creek and Andrea Schwartz in San Francisco. She is a member of the California Society of Printmakers and the Los Angeles Printmaking Society.

 

 

Artist’s Statement

 

A fellow artist once told me, “You do not choose art; it chooses you.” In my case I believe that’s true. Over time I’ve developed a technique that balances serendipity and design, and a personal aesthetic that reflects the layers of my Japanese-American identity. I use elements from nature as metaphors for the human condition. When I see a twisted tree, I’m inspired by its strong, defiant will to survive in the face of adversity. Swaying grasses remind me to be flexible and tolerant when necessary. The willowy stem of a young sapling speaks of hope and yearning. This is how I was taught life lessons—through the symbolism of haiku and Zen proverbs. 

 

My monotype-collages are printed on BFK Rives printmaking paper using water-soluble ink. I draw the image with a thin bead of plate oil onto Plexiglas and then apply ink over the drawing with a rubber roller. The oil acts as a resist, but the image is also imprinted onto my roller, which creates shadows when rolled again. I use this technique to create positive and negative images, which I then collage together into one composition. The resulting monotype/collage is both spontaneous and controlled, simple and complex, much like life.