Printmaking with Purpose
My piece for the MdW Atlas is “Chavalitos.” This piece reflects on the child who lives within our Midwestern immigrant parents. Chavalitos is a nostalgic, endearing term that directly means “young boys.” The text reads, “From here, I love you a whole bunch pops.” In some circumstances, people’s journeys can be so traumatic that they stunt their emotional growth. “Chavalitos” is dedicated to the men in our family who make an effort to unlearn their patterns and express their emotions verbally.
"Chavalitos"
My name is Alejandra Carrillo. I am 25 years old and from Indianapolis, IN. I have a double bachelor’s in Art Education and Printmaking from Indiana University Indianapolis. I discovered printmaking 6 years ago, while taking my first Lithography class in my college studies. I’ve always really enjoyed drawing, but there was something about being able to share my work with my community through printmaking that really spoke to me.
Printmaking is a unique art practice. I think anyone can be an artist, but it takes a particular person to be a printmaker. It takes a special, crazy person to be patient enough to problem-solve their way through some of these printmaking methods that are like, forty-plus steps long just to get one image, let alone a whole edition with multiple layers. That kind of work can really humble you. It is very easy to make mistakes along the way, and then you have to pivot and investigate. However, two of my favorite printmaking methods are lithography and intaglio etching because of all the recipe-like steps involved.
I have a piece called “Movers” which connects my story of displacement to the historical displacement of Latine communities here in Indianapolis in the 1960s. This specific piece was really emotionally charged. I wanted to come up with a print that really honored all of the layers of the stories I wanted to tell. “Movers” was rewarding because so many people told me they connected with the piece. I wrote a poem in Spanish to go along with the print, and a lot of people in my community really resonated with it. It felt like I was doing something right.
My drawing and printmaking work always centers the re-humanization and decolonization of my people. Something I would really like to explore more is installation. Installation work really takes up space. It makes your themes and messages that much more important. Plus, the duality of print allows you to make an edition where every print is identical and also an edition where every print looks unique. That kind of repetition and rhythm could really thrive in larger-scale installation work.
As an artist in the Midwest, I really love the closeness of our art communities, but one of our main weaknesses is accessibility. Especially for a printmaker, there are not many places to print outside of school institutions, but there are methods like relief, screen print, monotype, and even cyanotype that you can try at home. Any kind of relief printing can be compared to making stamps. You are simply carving away the negative space in your image. While there are some methods that can be very long and complicated, there are also some methods that can be very fun and immediately rewarding. You can start with a small linocut block, or they also make sheets of easier-to-carve rubber blocks, get you some carving tools, and you're set!
Everyone should try Printmaking! Print is truly a vehicle for connectedness and revolution at its very core. People’s engagement with my work is really special. I’ve been told my images are very powerful. I think it's important to reclaim the power and connectedness that have been stripped from our community. Being connected is our best tool for resistance.
