episode twenty-seven | annalise gratovich

Published 13 November 2019

Miranda Metcalf  Hello print friends, and welcome to the 27th episode of Pine Copper Lime (Hello, Print Friend), the internet's number one printmaking podcast. I'm your host, Miranda Metcalf. I release an episode every two weeks, and on the off weeks, I publish an article on the Pine Copper Lime website, which features images and maybe a bit more information about the artist I'm going to interview. Boy, howdy. It is a busy, busy time at PCL headquarters down under. We're celebrating 20,000 followers on Instagram as of this week. 20,000. That is a whole stadium full of print-loving, podcast-listening, inky fingered beauties. And to celebrate, have you guessed it? That's right, I'm doing another giveaway, partnering with the incredible folks at Awagami Factory once again. This time they have donated two - count them, two - $100 gift certificates to the cause. You can sign up through a link in the show notes to the Instagram. But hurry, because the drawing will be at 10am the 19th of November, Sydney time. For those of you who don't know Awagami, they've been making incredible washi paper in Yoshinogawa village in Japan for eight generations. They also have residencies and a paper museum and so much more. You can hear all about it in Episode 13 of this podcast. So go to the PCL Instagram (@helloprintfriend) to enter or just click the link in the show notes. But that is not all. No no no. Awagami is offering listeners of Pine Copper Lime 20% off their entire purchase from the online store between now and the 15th of December. No need to enter anything, no need to wait for a drawing. As of right now, with the offer code PCL20%, you can get 20% off your entire purchase between now and the 15th of December. My guest this week is Annalise Gratovich. She's a printmaker based in Austin, Texas, who creates absolutely stunning monumental woodcuts. Her figures represent explorations of home, loss, and family history. Annalise is also a world class print community organizer and a board member for Print Austin. For those of you who don't know Print Austin, this event is quintessentially what I mean when I say "join the party." Since 2014, Print Austin has been hosting a citywide, month long event to celebrate printmaking. They partner with local galleries and arts venues for exhibitions, demonstrations, and artist talks throughout the event. But from January 31 through February 2, that's when some real magic happens. They have a printmakers ball and a print expo with artists and galleries from around the US showing their goods. Can't make it to Print Austin but still want to join the party? Do not despair. There is a print exchange through this event and the deadline to apply is right around the corner. The call is open internationally and the final exhibition will be exhibited at the Print Expo. And right now, Pine Copper Lime listeners can enjoy $5 off the entry fee with the code PCL5OFF. That's $5 off the entry fee for the Print Austin print exchange between now and December 15 with the offer code PCL5OFF. I'll put a link in the show notes to all of this, of course, so printmakers, shake your pretty little tail feathers and get on this. Printmaking forever, shun the non believers, join that party. Okay, so without further ado, here's Annalise. Hi, Annalise, how's it going? 

Annalise Gratovich  Very good. How are you? 

Miranda Metcalf  I'm good. How are things in Austin?

Annalise Gratovich  Things are good. We're back and forth between kind of starting winter and then being summer again, and it's also the fall season, which is really busy for the arts and everyone's artistic schedule. So there's a lot of stuff going on, a lot of excitement.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, well, I've definitely heard that Austin is an incredible place for arts. I think that's one of the things It's famous for. And that's definitely something I want to ask you about maybe a little bit later on, because I know that you are an organizer and a spokesperson and ambassador, I think, for some things. So I think I'd be excited to hear more about that. But before we dive in, I would love it if you could just introduce yourself to our listeners, and answer the classic who you are, where you are, what you do questions?

Annalise Gratovich  I am Annalise Gratovich. I live in Austin, Texas. And I currently work at the Blanton Museum here in town as the Matting and Framing Preparator. And so I basically prepare everything on paper - books, prints and drawings, of course, paintings, manuscripts, maps, all that kind of stuff - either for exhibition or for collections housing. And I am also a self publishing printmaker based out of Austin, and I'm on the board of a couple different printmaking organizations in town. And I like to curate and just bring people together. So I wear a lot of different hats here.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, sounds like you are a works on paper person, through and through. Well, tell me a little bit about where you grew up and when you first started to get that kind of spark of art making.

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, well, I grew up kind of in the Hill Country here, just outside of Austin. But I have been in Austin for so long, I consider it my hometown. And I have always drawn on things and made things, and so it's definitely been a large part of my life. And I come from a family of artists, well, musicians, really. Both of my parents are working musicians, and my brother is a musician, and that runs in the family. Visual arts too, but a little bit less. So it's just been a big part of my life.

Miranda Metcalf  So were you like the kind of kid that was always doodling in the margins and the textbooks and that kind of thing?

Annalise Gratovich  Oh, yeah, yeah. And drawing on the walls, drawing on all these things that I shouldn't have been drawing on. And it's funny that I love paper now so much, because I didn't want to draw on paper way back in the day.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah. And so did you know from right on, early on, you wanted to go to art school?

Annalise Gratovich  No, I didn't. I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do. And so I was at community college. And I started when I was really young, I was 16. And I remember going to the basement, which is where all the art classes were. And I was taking some art classes. And then I saw the printmaking studio, and I saw my first ever American French Tool. And I was totally bewitched. I was like, 'What is this place? What is this machine? What is the acid room?' And I was like, 'I'm not exactly sure what this is, but I'm gonna look into it. And I'm gonna take it.' And I just completely fell in love from the beginning. And it's funny, because I had made a print before. And this is something that I totally forgot about until very recently. There was one one year when I was really young. My parents took me to an arts camp that was just like a week long. And I'd go for a little bit a day. And I made a screen print of just some silly little sunflower drawing, and I got to print it on all this different stuff. And I remember just loving that, making the multiples, and it was so fun. And then I don't know, camp was over and I kind of forgot about it, and didn't really think about it again, printmaking, really, about making prints, until I enrolled in that first intro class at Austin Community College. And we studied - we did a relief print, an etching, and a litho. And I kept taking it until I decided to go to school for printmaking. And at 14 years later, I haven't stopped, which is great.

Miranda Metcalf  So how did you end up going to community college at 16?

Annalise Gratovich  Well, I didn't quite like the high school I was going to. I was bored, and it wasn't fun. Like, who likes high school, right? I ended up dropping out. And I took an entrance exam to community college. And so that's how I was able to do that. And it was really great. And I took classes in all these amazing things. And I started really liking math and science and was taking astronomy classes, and thought I was going to go to school for astronomy until printmaking caught me.

Miranda Metcalf  Really? That's so interesting. I love that, because I feel like a lot of people - and this is, of course, something that gets talked about so much, to almost ad nauseum - but I still enjoy how there is that separation, a little bit, of course, between arts and science, and they're so different, and neither the twain shall meet. But I was actually just listening to, this morning, while I was having breakfast, one of my favorite podcasts, which is Ologies. And she is a bit of a hero, because obviously, she's doing a lot what I do, only with science. And the woman that she was talking to was a chemist who, for a very long time, was studying fashion and wanted to be a fashion designer, until she just got this whiff of chemistry and was like, 'Oh, no, this is it.' So [she] had gone the other way. 

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, I'm sure it happens often, you know. And I mean, I get a lot of the same kind of gratification. It's the problem solving, and it's puzzles, and working towards this abstract idea until you get a concrete answer. But it's much more satisfying to me because I am working physically on something. And it's just the best.

Miranda Metcalf  That's also really astute, what you were saying about that, working towards solving a puzzle or solving a challenge. Because that is exactly what this woman was saying, is that is why she loves something like chemistry, is that in a way, it's a game. And if you just keep picking at it systematically, you will get there. And it just requires dedication and creative thinking and sort of stretchy thinking. And then you'll be there. Oh, I love it.

Annalise Gratovich  Man, this woman and I would get along well.

Miranda Metcalf  I know. I'll have to send you a link to it. It's so funny. 

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, please do. That sounds fascinating.

Miranda Metcalf  So you were thinking a lot about astronomy, and then printmaking stole your heart. Do you have any idea what it was about that printmaking studio when you saw it? Was it that maybe it looked a little bit almost like a laboratory in its own way, acid baths and specialized equipment?

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, well, it definitely was other worldly. And I loved the machines. And I remember being captured by the printing presses first. And then just seeing all this other cool stuff. And I'm like, 'Oh, these are cool toys. And I want to play with these.' And then also, I saw what people were making. And I was just like, 'Oh, I got to try that.' And then when I got into it, I was really captured also by the community and by the excitement and encouragement and inclusion. And I have always thought this about printmakers, and I think we all share this sentiment, that we're incredibly inclusive, fun, encouraging people, and I just knew immediately, oh, wow, I've found my people. I want to surround myself with these people and this art making and this process. And I've been incredibly fortunate to do so. And I'm so grateful. And I mean, one of my first friends that I made in that print class when I was 16, we are still phenomenal friends, and I'm really good friends with my first print teacher who has been a great mentor to me. Yeah, that's everything.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, it really is.There's absolutely that sense of, come for the art, stay for the community. So all of this was in Austin, where you went to school, and then where you eventually studied, was that in Austin, or did you leave for graduate studies?

Annalise Gratovich  No, I haven't gone to grad school. So it's all been in Austin. I did my BFA here, and at that time, I started working at Flatbed Press, which is a print publisher here in town. So I was there for eight years, and just made the transition to the museum earlier this year. And so I think every now and then about going back to grad school, but I just have not made the jump. And I've just been so busy also, and so engaged, and doing so many things. I just haven't really wanted to take that break to do that, although I think about it. And I think I'm probably going to do it in the next few years or so. But we'll see. In a way, I think grad school is there when you're not feeling that forward momentum. And it's a way to, ideally, in a good grad program, what it's going to do is expand your practice, but almost logistically, expand your community and your connections. And I think that is, from what it sounds like where you are, you have momentum and you have a step forward and you are doing all these things. And if at any point you kind of start to feel the wane in the momentum, that is a really good time to go to grad school and expand what you're doing both professionally and artistically. But grad school is not going anywhere. That's the great thing about it. Yeah, it's not. And that's one reason why I I've never felt in a rush to do it. And I definitely have time, of course. And I mean, there are things that I would like to do that I think I could get out of a grad program, just ideas I'd like to develop, and having the time and resources to do that. And expand into some different, I guess, more three dimensional media. But as it is, yeah, I haven't been wanting to divest myself from a lot of the things that I've been engaging in here, because they've been so fulfilling and so wonderful. And so I'm happy here.

Miranda Metcalf  Good. Yeah, I know a lot of professional artists, when they do choose to go to grad school, even if they already have this established career, they'll say they think of it as just a two year long residency. Because they've got a lot already going that they go in with the intention of fleshing out. And I think that can be a good way to think about it, too.

Annalise Gratovich  That's a great way to think about it. Yeah, absolutely. I have never never applied that word to it. But I think that's a very good way to look at it.

Miranda Metcalf  Since we're speaking about your work, I would say one of the things that's really distinctive about what you do is that you work across all these different media, and you manipulate the paper yourself, and you do all these things, but you also have a really distinctive aesthetic that is really recognizable and really beautiful. And I'd love to just ask you to maybe describe that a little bit first, before we kind of get into some of the technical or philosophical aspects of your practice.

Annalise Gratovich  My work, well, it's very figurative, but within that, the stylized, figurative work, there is a strong sense of pattern. Pattern is very important. And symbols are very important. And creating this field of visual stimulation through a pattern is important to me. And that is derived, in large part, from Ukrainian embroidery. And I have Ukrainian heritage, as we kind of spoke about earlier. And that's been a big influence on my work, incorporating these visual languages that I have grown up with, and that I have seen. But also that have been very far away from me. And that kind of lends itself to the philosophical part of my studio investigation, but I think that's the way I would describe it. It's stylized, figurative work with a strong sense of pattern and repetition. Yeah, absolutely. And how did you kind of come to develop that style? Was it something that you'd worked years on? Did you draw one of your figures and all of a sudden realize, oh, there's a lot to explore here, I'm gonna keep doing it, or was it over time? Both. Absolutely both. I always have been drawn to figurative work, and I make it, and I collect it. And I was drawing these very round forms and imbuing them with a lot of emotion, a lot of human connection and humanity. And I wanted to draw empathy and compassion from people, you know, these important emotions that art is very good for. In school, it's funny, because I had a professor one time that was, he just told me - and we got along well - but he said this thing to me that that sticks with me, that I chuckle about every now and then, he said, 'You know, you should think about designing Hallmark cards.' And I was like, 'Okay, yeah, thanks. Thanks a lot'. But you know, I stuck with it. And I kept developing this figure because that's what I wanted to do. And then it struck me, 'Oh, I'm drawing the matryoshka dolls that I grew up playing with.' These round figures with these doll like faces. And those were some of my favorite toys to play with when I wasn't drawing, unstacking and stacking and nestling them together, and seeing the patterns. And we had several. And the different stories that they told, too, within the patterning. And I just found that to be important, making that realization. So it was both something I had been doing for a long time, and then all of a sudden kind of had this lightbulb moment, which is like, 'Oh! Why didn't I realize that sooner?' And I mean, I love textile and embroidery and the stylistic patterning, and just the the visual language. And these geometric and floral textile patterns, when you really start studying them and looking at them, they are the same across cultures, which I think is really striking. And so I started putting a lot of that into my work. And people, kind of depending on where they're coming from or their influences or references, can look at my figures and place them in completely different places, which I think are 100% valid. People will come and see Inuit figures or, you know, Japanese stylized dolls, or... I mean, of course, people from Eastern Europe see it right away, they say, 'Oh, it's a matryoshka doll.' But I think all of those are valid, and it's fascinating to me, this visual language that transcends culture in in this type of textile and traditional artworks. And so I started using that a lot, and one of my largest series that I've been working on for a long time, it's this series called "Carrying Things From Home." And it's a series of eight large wood cuts, and they are three by five and a half feet. And each one is this totemic being that encompasses a soul identity. And so when I started this series, that's when I really started thinking about putting the traditional embroidery in here. But then when you look at the work, I also - I'm 100% Texan, my father's a war refugee from Ukraine, he's a naturalized citizen, but I'm 100% Texan - so I also bring in my kind of country upbringing, and a lot of the Southwest and Texas, and these motifs that feel at home to me. So I have this blend of Eastern European and then also American West and Southwest.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, I think it's really appropriate for you to call them "totemic," because that is really so much the feel that they have, is this - I was gonna say "long" but I don't even think "a long tradition" covers it. Really, since we were creating images, we would make human figures that stand in for something greater, for a concept, as a way to kind of embody it. And that really, you get the feeling with your - and I want to call them female, but I don't know, do they have any kind of a gender from your point of view?

Annalise Gratovich  No, they don't. I like to keep them androgynous. But it's interesting, because I have also found that women will refer to them as "she," or female identifying [people], and then male identifying [people] will refer to them as "he," and sometimes there's a crossover. But that has been something that's very interesting to me, and what I love, because that's people humanizing the work and empathizing with it and seeing, kind of recognizing themselves in it. So that's been a really interesting phenomenon as I've seen people interact with the work. I mean, there are some that are gendered. The two most recent pieces in the series are "The Mother" and "The Undertaker," and so they are life and death in the series. So of course, that one is gendered, "The Mother" is. Typically I like to keep them genderless, or all gender inclusive, really.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, two sides of the coin, genderless or all genders. Yeah, they're both there. It's so interesting, because when I sort of hesitated, like, I want to refer to them as female. But when I look at them - like I have them pulled up right now, just kind of in the background of the call so I can speak to them directly - I'm looking at them, and there's nothing I could point to. There's no traditional female characteristics that they have that I could be like, 'Oh, yeah, that's why I think she's a female figure,' or whatever. Yeah, you've created something that is a bit transcendent, which I think is really beautiful. From the series, it's called "Carrying Things From Home." And they're these large scale, and you've described, they're these sort of round figures. And they themselves are wearing very patterned head pieces and cloaks. And then they also are standing in or on or around something that seems symbolic as well, whether it's oceans or a stump from a cut down tree. And I'd love to hear you kind of speak to the actual physical imagery that you're using, and how one kind of might read one of your pieces through the icons and the iconography in it.

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, I'd be happy to. Well, these come from a studio investigation of personal and cultural identity and home and belonging. And what that means, and the loss of that, and the search for that, and the search for identity. And so each one of these figures is carrying... kind of a ware of their trade, or something that kind of encompasses their identity. Like "The Builder," for example, the one with the stump. So "The Builder" is carrying this bird, a big blue bird, in his arms. And he is standing in front of a tree that he's cut down. So he's surrounded by the stump, and his textiles are covered in axes and this tartan pattern. And he's also on his head, supporting - and see, I'm saying "he" - the character is holding a nest on their head, but it's to no avail, he's trying to save the bird, but the bird is already dead, and he cut down the tree. And the work is about our identities and our losses and our hopes, and best attempts at things, and they're not always sad, but this series also is about that. It's about belonging, and the loss of belonging, and the search for that, and what that means and how hard that is, and how hard it can be. And just recognizing that in other people too, and seeing the humanity in each other. And that's what this whole series is really about.

Miranda Metcalf  Would you say that maybe part of that interest in one way or another comes from growing up with a father who was displaced from the Ukraine?

Annalise Gratovich  Yes, absolutely. And this loss of familial and cultural ties that we have had. And his parents, they left as refugees during World War Two, very suddenly, they literally left in the middle of the night with what they could carry. And then they made their way across Eastern Europe, and, eventually were sponsored by the Tolstoy Foundation and came to the United States. And throughout that time that they were moving around, we just have bits and pieces of stories. And so I also have this fascination with oral stories and the histories that we have that are carried by our ancestors that we learn. And through those, we learn about ourselves, and we learn about them. But if you don't have those, then what do you do? You know, it's kind of just this question mark. And that is very interesting to me. And we do have bits and pieces. One of the characters in this series is "The Musician." And so my grandfather was an accordionist. And so he was a technically trained engineer. And so he would go to the factories along the front lines and work with a crew and dismantle factories and send the resources back east to keep them out of the hands of the Axis powers. And so there was a point in time when he and my grandmother were separated across enemy lines. And so he left, he defected, and went and got her, and they left in the middle of the night. And so he would play accordion, as they were traveling, he would play accordion to Allied forces and my grandmother would sing. And they would ask to be paid in Lucky Strike cigarettes, which they would barter on the black market for food and clothing and shelter. My dad remembers one time going to meet a man with my grandfather, and my grandfather traded him cigarettes for a suitcase full of cherries. And that was one part of that story that stood out. And that story made its way into my work. There's "The Musician," who is holding an accordion, and he has this beautiful floral pattern on his clothing. And he's standing in front of a drum and also some dice and an alcohol bottle. Because they had their vices, we all do. But yeah, that's definitely the impetus for the series, thinking about the reality of that, and what a big part of our world that is.

Miranda Metcalf  And how much stories make up our sense of home and who we are, and particularly the stories from the people who came before us, I think, are so important to that sense of, 'This is who I am.' And obviously, displacement from anything, but you know, from war, things like World War Two that disrupts an entire generation, that kind of cultural loss and devastation is really sort of immeasurable. And we're still, even though it may seem sort of quote-unquote "like a long time ago," I think we're still just beginning to maybe understand the generational reverberation that can have.

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, absolutely. And on the other side, again - I'm such a Gemini, I work in opposites all the time and think in opposites. So I incorporate a lot of plant imagery into my work. And I'm working on a new series of wood cuts that are botanical right now. And that has always been a fascination for me. And this idea of being rooted, again, is very important in both a literal and figurative sense. And plant imagery and the symbolism of plants is in my work, is very present in my work. And that's something that I've been exploring more recently in the past couple, few years. And I talk about my my dad and my dad's story a lot, and how it has influenced my work and my mentality and outlook on life and humanity and our patterns and movements, and I don't speak about my mom as much. And I have found, I've come to realize, that she is the plants in my work. And that is very important. Because she - and I'm not just going into this because she's probably going to listen to this -

Miranda Metcalf  Hi, mom. 

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, hi mom. This is one set that I want to develop more, because I mean, she is the one that really showed me what it is to have an artistic life and studio practice. And she's an incredible concert pianist, she's retired from performing now, but I mean, she's just incredible. And growing up and seeing her dedication to her life's work and life's passion and how dedicated you have to be, it's constant work, and just the focus, her focus, really taught me what I need to know to do what I'm doing now. And she's one of the most kind and inclusive and generous, just incredibly generous, nurturing people that I think I'm ever going to know. And so she has rooted me. And so there's so much about my work that's about the searching and displacement and longing and home, you know, what does that mean? But she is that person, and she's also,  she gardens and landscapes, and I grew up doing that out in the Hill Country, kind of light scale farming. And I do that myself, I mean, I cultivate plants and grow and nurture plants, which is my mental health care. So that's a big part of my work. And this is one of the first times I've ever really spoken about that, and so it's something that I want to start including into what I say when I am talking about my work.

Miranda Metcalf  Absolutely. Yeah. And before I kind of do more of a deep dive question on that, I just want to give a shout out to Annalise's Instagram for hot plant content as well as great printmaking content. 

Annalise Gratovich  It's the best of both worlds!

Miranda Metcalf  It's the best of both worlds. You have amazing plants appearing in your stories and that kind of thing that I feel like help my mental health. Just watching them from a distance.

Annalise Gratovich  It really happens, it really works. It's amazing. 

Miranda Metcalf  So kind of going back to this idea of... there's so much in there, of the mother, and this very common metaphor of women and mothers, particularly people who do growing, Mother Earth... I think you were saying that you have that idea of of that nurturing and protecting and all of that kind of thing, as mothers of all ilks and genders do. But in terms of your mother's sort of cultural background, where is she from?

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, she is from a little town in Louisiana. A long line of people there. And it's also interesting, we don't know much of our family on that side, either. And I think there was an interesting pruning of the family tree. So it's interesting, it kind of seems, in a way, that my nuclear family, my parents and my brother and I... I don't know, it's strange, it seems like we started our own branch. And we're going forward from there. And there's not much information going backwards.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, I think that idea is really interesting to me, the way, generally speaking, non-Indigenous Americans, we really tend to lean into the stories that we know from the culture of the background that we know. So for instance, I describe myself as Swedish and Norwegian. But those were my great grandparents, on one side. But we still had the little horses and little trolls at Christmas time around the house. Because I think we want that sense of identity. And that sense of that longer history, that longer sense of culture and space and belonging, that in our case, European traditions offer. And so we tend to really lean into that and kind of almost forget about, like, 'Oh, I don't... you know, maybe they were on a farm in Iowa... I don't know about them.' you know, and that's kind of like, 'I'm not gonna pay attention to them.' Right? Or people who, I think we've all known people who are really, really proud of, let's say, their Irish heritage, right? And then, again, it's like one great grandfather he knows from Ireland. But that's the one we know, so that's the one we hold on to. And I think it's really beautiful when you're talking about your work, how you are having these both sides of it, where there's one where it's this really clear connection, because for you it's your father and your grandparents, and that cultural connection is very close. But I love how you're also realizing that even if it's not the sort of fully formed, ancient culture that has a label, like Ukrainian, your mother's influence is still in your work. And it's almost more intuitive and more emotional. The fact that you said you didn't even necessarily realize that she was coming out in your plants until, it sounds like, just recently. And I think it's really great for us to recognize sort of all sides of of who we are.

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, I think so too. And I mean, my mom's family has been extremely influential. And I know really kind of as little about them as I do about my dad's family. Or I know as much, I should say, in a manner. But I know that they were fishermen, and they would fish on the bayou. And I mean, I was incredibly close to my grandmother, and she was a school secretary and had a radio show growing up, and she and her sisters would sing. And she would always say that they would get the most fan mail out of everyone on the radio station. Yeah, my grandfather on their side was a sign painter. And so he would build billboards and paint billboards, and growing up, too, some of his tools - he passed when I was really young - but some of his tools and paint brushes were the first instruments of art making that I used when my mother gave them to me. So her side of the family is incredibly important and very treasured. And yeah, I definitely want to be able to bring out and honor both sides of of that ancestry in my work. Again, community and family and belonging is what my work is is all about. And so I want to develop that to the best of my ability. 

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, definitely. And so my next question is one that I've been kind of curious about asking guests moving forward, because it's one that I've been thinking about a lot myself, which is just, why are these pieces prints, do you think? Why aren't they drawings or paintings or sculptures? Like, why wood cuts for you, do you think?

Annalise Gratovich  Yeah, they are wood cuts. That is kind of an interesting question. So when I started the series, I knew that I wanted them to be life size, or almost life size. And at that time, I wasn't doing a lot of wood cuts. And I wanted to try my hand at it. And the patterning in black and white is really stunning. And when I started the series, I really just saw them as black and white images, and then developed this process of dyeing the paper and doing this crazy, intricate chine colle, which is how they're colored. But it really was from wanting to explore the tradition of the black and white patterning in wood cut, and also using something that would allow me to make them life size. So it was kind of an experiment. But knowing it was an experiment kind of towards the right end goal, which kind of goes back to what we were talking about in the beginning about it being a process of problem solving to an ideal solution. But I would say that's the reason.

Miranda Metcalf  Beautiful. I think I'd like to pivot a little bit now, but also kind of speaking of community, I'd love for you to speak to the print community in Austin and this great event that happens called Print Austin, which I believe you're on the board for, an organizer for? And all of that, because I know that many people are probably interested in it, and those who don't know are about to get interested in it.

Annalise Gratovich  I am, yeah.  Yes, absolutely. And this is a great time of year to talk about it too, because we are gearing up for our spring season and have a lot of calls for entry which are going to be coming out and there's a big contemporary printmaking juried exhibition that has cash prizes, so everyone should look into Print Austin. But what it is is a month long festival from mid January to mid February. And it was founded by two printmakers here in town, Elvia Perrin and Cathy Savage. And I'm one of the founding board members. So I've been very fortunate to have been involved with the organization since the beginning and have been able to see it grow and see it really turned into this wonderful thing. So we have exhibitions and artists talks and demos and all kinds of... a steamroller event and a print fair, events at galleries and museums and pop up spaces that happen all over town, from mid January to mid February, and people come from all over Texas and all over the country to participate in these events and exhibitions. And the goal is to widen the scope of printmaking and the print community and to teach people about printmaking as a legitimate art form. Printmakers, we talk about this a lot, that it's kind of like the stepchild of other art forms. And also, there has been historically a lack of printmaking in gallery spaces, and in Austin, that was definitely the case. So in our first year, we were reaching out to galleries and saying, 'Hey, we're starting this organization!' And also I want to take a moment to say that Print Austin is based off of what I'll call a parent organization called Print Houston that happens in Houston in the summertime. So we wanted to do something like Print Houston, and they were incredibly willing to share their information with us and some of their programming, and endorsed kind of the sister organization, Print Houston, Print Austin, and I want to take a moment to mention that, because they also do great events and that's the summertime thing coming up. But one of the goals was, we're calling these galleries saying, 'We're starting this organization, it's going to have this festival in the beginning of the year, we want to place phenomenal printmaking artists in Austin galleries, and are you interested in joining our programming?' And in the first couple years, we would have galleries say yes, and we would help pair printmakers with these galleries based on what they like to show. We'd work with them individually to find something that would fit their curatorial aesthetic. And then galleries started getting into it. And they would say 'Oh, well, we have somebody that we'd like to show this year.' And then they would keep our programming in mind and reach out to printmakers and start doing print-centric exhibitions and showing more printmakers. So that part of the organization, fostering that in the local community, has been phenomenal. And the organization just continues to grow. And this year, we're taking our print fair, which is called Print Expo, from a one day event to a weekend long event. And I mean, it has just grown exponentially. And we have printmakers from all over the country that come for that. And it's so fun. And it's a great way to start collecting prints or add to a current collection. And that's one of the goals of this organization, is to educate people and help foster art collecting and the importance of that, and how accessible it can be. I mean, it can seem so intimidating, and like you need a crazy budget. But you know, if you get a little bit of advice here and there, you can find prints, like incredible, beautiful, life changing, inspirational artwork, for whatever fits your budget. And so that's kind of the goal of this organization, is to grow the best things about printmaking.

Miranda Metcalf  Right. Yeah. And I think that that's so intelligent, it's just so smart. Because I think that we get such a beautiful sense of community ourselves. And of course, it's this global community where I'm talking to you in Austin, and I'm here in Australia, and then we've got, I'm sure, mutual friends around the world as well. And we have such a great time together that I think sometimes we forget that, in order to have a holistic ecosystem of art, we need audiences. And yes, we can be our own audience. But there's no reason why we shouldn't be actively looking to share this incredible work with people outside of our community. And I am just such a firm believer that having art in your life and in your home and in your space, no matter who you are, art that you have picked out because it speaks to you, improves your quality of life. Or even, I was trying to think as I was saying that, I was like, even if it's not even on your walls, like I have prints in tubes, in storage, that just knowing what they are and that they're mine makes me happy when I think about it, you know?

Annalise Gratovich  It's so funny you say that, because I kind of do like a flat file inventory check every now and then. And for a long time, recently, I didn't have internet in my house, and I liked it that way. And kind of would just unplug when I was here. And I would joke about just sitting down with a glass of wine at the end of the day, and I'll just sit on my couch and look at the art on my walls. And really, I would really look at it, right? And I would look at the mark making and study the image and kind of learn from the work that I like to collect. But it's funny, because I still think about that. And every now and then, I'm just like, 'Oh yeah, and this print in my flat files, and that print. Oh, I love that print, and oh man, I'm so happy about that. I should take that out and look at it when I get home.'

Miranda Metcalf  I love that so much. Of course it makes me think of the ye olde "come up and see my etchings." Like the Netflix and chill of 1882.  It still works. A total side note, one of my dear friends here who I hope to get on the podcast, his name is Michael Kempson. He's an incredible etcher. He runs a teaching and collaborative studio in Sydney. He and his partner have this story about the first time they went on a date, and he said, 'Do you want to come up and see my etchings?' And she was like, 'Shit, yeah, I do.' And then how sad she was when she learned they were really etchings. She was like 'Aw!' She's like, 'And then he showed me all his etchings!'

Annalise Gratovich  That's still my move. 'That's not what I wanted at all!' That's really funny.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, but I love that idea of of having an analog evening in with your art that's in your life. I want to bring that back, I want to start first Fridays, or something, of the month, start a movement that we pour ourselves a glass of wine and we really look at this amazing art that's in our lives. And it's not just something that you pass by running out the door, grabbing your laptop and trying to get your eyebrows in order before you see the day. 

Annalise Gratovich  It's appreciation with intention. And it's really lovely. First Fridays! First Fridays. Yeah, let's start adding to the stories. I think we can make a thing out of this. I love it. It would be so fun. And when we plugged back in on the first Saturday, we could upload what we were looking at. It would be super fun.

Miranda Metcalf  I think we could totally, we'll have to come up with a real sexy name for it that's like... Oh, I can't come up with it on the spot. But we'll come up with something good that people can hashtag. And so you can go through everyone's stories and see what great work they were doing. Oh, just let's just add something else to the list of things that we're doing with our lives, shall we? 

Annalise Gratovich  Just keep adding. Why not?

Miranda Metcalf  Beautiful. Well, speaking of the list of things that you're doing, just to quickly jump back to Print Austin, please let people know when it takes place and where they can see calls, and I'll add all of that to the show notes for sure so they've got some of those hard details. 

Annalise Gratovich  Yes, fantastic. So you can follow the @printaustin Instagram handle, and then the website is printaustin.org. And the schedule is probably going up already, we've already released our call for the contemporary print show. And that's a great one to enter. And if you're interested in the print fair, you can also find information there as well, printaustin.org. And there's a trade and then there are other other ways to get involved too. So it's a great website to go to to poke around and look for opportunities. And yeah, those are two good places to do it.

Miranda Metcalf  Excellent. And then what are the actual dates of the event?

Annalise Gratovich  Oh, it's January 15 to February 15. 

Miranda Metcalf  Perfect. So it's coming up. So people can start googling and entering and looking into plane tickets and all that kind of thing. 

Annalise Gratovich  Yes, come to Austin, look me up. We'll look at some etchings. I don't know if I should say that - I don't know what I'm getting myself into. We'll look at prints during Print Austin.

Miranda Metcalf  Beautiful. And so it sounds like it's an event that just keeps growing and getting bigger and more education for the people about printmaking and more community building. And I just love that, that's exactly what we need. 

Annalise Gratovich  It's so fun. 

Miranda Metcalf  Well, before we sign off, can you let me know if maybe there's anything else that you're looking forward to in the future that you want to share with people, things on the horizon? You've got Print Austin, you've got your beautiful series you're working on, anything else you can think of?

Annalise Gratovich  Well, yes, about another print shop. A good friend of mine, who is an incredible letterpress artist and works at the McDonald Observatory in West Texas, is starting a community print shop in Marfa. And that organization was just launched, and details are still kind of being formulated, but there are going to be exhibitions and workshops, and kind of these almost residency type workshops where participants can really access the best of West Texas and do hikes or nature walks and learn about how to bring that type of imagery into your work and the workshops. So that's really exciting, and I was asked to be on the board for that as well, and I'm really excited for that programming and to see this space develop. So that is - oh, what is the website for that? - it's marfacommunityprint.org, I believe, and it just went live, so please forgive me, Laura. Laura Thoms is the founder. But just a quick Google, you can find that out. So if you're in the area or visiting the area, there's good printmaking in Marfa, as well, of course, great arts there.

Miranda Metcalf  Yeah, that's such a great place for it. Beautiful. Well, I'll make sure that we find exactly what it is. We'll put the link in the show notes with everything so people can follow that. And then where's the best place for people to follow you and see your work and see your plants and see our new event, the First Friday etching viewings or whatever we'll call it?

Annalise Gratovich  

We'll come up with a better name. Yeah, so my Instagram is @annalisegratovich. And I also recently released a new website, which is annalisegratovich.com. So you can find me at both of those places. 

Miranda Metcalf  Beautiful. Well, there will definitely be links to all of that. And thank you so much for coming on and having this great chat and talking about your work and your family and being just so open and wonderful about all of it.

Annalise Gratovich  Absolutely. This was so fun. And printmaking is my favorite thing in the world. So I love to talk about it. And I love talking about it with you. This was just a blast. So thank you for having me on.

Miranda Metcalf  Beautiful. Well, we'll have to have you back sometime. For sure. Thank you! That's it for this week, print friends. Join me again in two weeks' time when my guest will be... dramatic drumroll... our patron saint of lithography, Kathryn Polk! We talk about her childhood growing up in Tennessee, being a badass Boss Lady in the corporate world, only coming to printmaking in her 50s, her coded iconography, and what it means to be a feminist artist in a post-gender world. You will not want to miss this one. This episode, like all episodes, was written and produced by me, Miranda Metcalf, with editing help from Timothy Pauszek and music by Joshua Webber. I'll see you in two weeks.