I am a non-traditional printmaker. I have little interest in creating multiples, which is the typical definition of the medium. I am drawn to printmaking, instead, because of the endless potential for variations on a theme. To me, this captures the very nature of our mysterious existence in this universe: endless variations on a theme…
My mixed-media prints are always one-of-a-kind works. They all begin, however, with a limited number of collagraphic plates. The collagraphic process is about texture - thin layers of found objects and modeling material are used to gradually build the printed image. The collagraph process is sculptural in its conception and my understanding of spatial relationships and the effects of light are strongly influenced by my experiences in technical theater as a young adult. Increasingly, my works are incorporating truly sculptural elements, such as string, cast paper, and beading.
I construct multiple prints in an unconventional way to create single works of art which try to capture the ambiguity of the duality between the microcosm, in which the human body itself mirrors the expanse of the universe, and the macrocosm. Utilizing multiple plates and techniques serves to create layers of texture and these echo the layers of meaning and metaphor in the images. I feel the collagraph process is well-suited to this task - I try to retain shadowy intricacies and textures that encourage the viewer to look closely and be present with the image, and ultimately to leave the piece with the sense that a small mystery has been presented to them.
I’ve appropriated the term "poetic knowledge" - for the kind of knowledge one receives from ideas that lack exact reference but nevertheless have a compelling force of truth - to talk about the inspiration for my work. What drives my work is the mystery of it all. It isn’t in the myriad “answers” to these universal questions, but in the visually astounding ways that these questions continually pose themselves.

Susan M Heggestad