Leah Boudreau's interest in printmaking started in high school where she experimented fanatically by churning out hundreds of images to test a variety of techniques and styles. Leah recalls, "My art teacher, Julie Cook, went to great lengths to provide the handful of students interested in printmaking with some basic linoleum block materials. Her class was the perfect place to start experimenting with the printing process. One of the fun things about linoleum block printing is that you can reproduce the same image very quickly. For me, this was unlike any other kind of art-making that I had ever done. Accustomed to spending a long time creating one image, I found it artistically very energizing to be able to quickly duplicate an image."

"I spent the better part of my senior year making hundreds of linocut prints of Bruce Springsteen. Despite my fixation on the Boss, Mrs. Cook never discouraged me from re-inking and printing him over and over. I eventually moved on to other subjects, though that year I remember having a distinct preoccupation with male celebrities (i.e. Paul McCartney, Elvis, and James Dean). She recognized my interest in printmaking and took me and a few other students to a workshop at Mt. Wachusett Community College, where we got to try out some monoprinting techniques using soy inks. Monoprinting covers a wide range of printing techniques, but generally speaking it involves applying inks directly to a plate and then printing, so each print is unique and cannot be duplicated. This was my first experience using a printing press and it really opened my eyes to the infinite creative possibilities of printmaking."

Later in college, Leah studied art history and became interested in both renaissance and contemporary art. Inspired by the rich visual language of her studies she went on to pursue her interest in print. She took studio courses in lithography, monoprinting, and intaglio techniques. Her enthusiasm for print lies in its infinite possibilities for experimentation and imagination. She marvels, "I am always amazed at the incredibly diverse results that can be obtained through continuous trials and errors."

After graduating in 2009, she continued making art as a hobby while she was working full time. She currently practices her printmaking out of a studio in Cambridge as well as from her home. "What I like about printmaking is that there is a process involved in creating the image, but the actual production of the printed material is almost instantaneous. You must be thoughtful about how your treatment of the plate will translate when printed. When I am composing a print, I find that my mind acts kind of like a projector, taking the image on the plate and envisioning it on paper. The moment you lift the paper off the press, or peel it off the block can be very magical, or unexpected, or sometimes totally disappointing. For every one print I like, there are probably four or five that don't come out as I hope. But one of the benefits of printing is that if I don't like the results, I can wash off the plate, manipulate it, and re-ink it and try the whole thing again without having to start over from scratch and with the knowledge of what I did wrong previously. Printmaking has held my interest because it lends itself so well to experimentation."

"I also love making prints because they can be very mysterious visually. People often look at a print and wonder how exactly the image manifests itself. In the case of a drawing or a painting, for example, the viewer can comprehend the medium because it has been applied directly to the paper or canvas by the artist's hand. With printing, the image is being lifted off of another surface, so the physical connection between the artist and the medium is less apparent." Leah uses a variety of different techniques in printmaking. The octopus print was created using a traditional copper etching technique which involves buffing a copper plate until it is smooth and then covering its surface with a waxy substance called a ground. Once the ground hardens, she draws on the surface with a pointed drawing tool. The plate is then immersed in an acid bath, which etches the exposed parts of the metal, leaving an impression of the drawn image in the copper. Once etched, the ground is rinsed from the plate with mineral spirits and the plate is then ready to be inked. After the plate is inked, it is placed on a printing press and covered with a dampened paper, and then rolled through the press. The plate can be printed again if any ink remains to create what is called a 'ghost' or it can be re-inked over and over again using the same or different techniques.

The flower print below was done in the same way as the octopus with a copper etching. She hand-colored the petals using watercolors after the ink dried. She explains, "With many of my copper etchings, I have used a technique called chinne colle, which involves printing onto different kinds of papers, usually fibrous, soft Japanese papers. Chine colle etchings often have a beautiful and subtle antique quality. The suppleness of the paper tends to soften the line quality of the print."

Drypoint etching can create similar results to copper etching without the use of harsh chemicals.Her drypoint etchings were created using buffed plexiglass plates. She explains, "I prefer the experience of working on copper, but using plexiglass has many advantages, especially in terms of cost. Additionally, because it is transparent, the plate can be placed over an image so the artist can use it as a guide to illustrate the plate. The process of drypoint etching can also be much faster than working on copper because it doesn't involve chemicals and solvents and all the time and preparation that those materials require."

Collographed prints involve affixing different materials such as paper, strings and fibers to a plate of metal, plastic, or wood. The artist can use an adhesive like an acrylic gel medium to adhere the materials to the plate. They can also use the medium alone to create a textured surface with painterly effects such as brush strokes. When the plate is inked, the textures created by the materials hold the inks and can produce wonderful dimensional finishes in the printed image. Collography can be combined with other kinds of printmaking like etching or drypointing to create very dynamic, textural prints. She made the vase collograph above by layering sheets of tissue paper and thread to build up the texture on a plate that she drypointed earlier.

In addition to printmaking, Leah also has an interest in using paper as a tactile and sculptural medium. Her most ambitious piece uses sculpted tissue paper to form a large floral tapestry. She explains, "The tissue paper flower tapestry is something I made for an art show hosted by a friend. A classmate of mine from Brandeis was holding a concert and art exhibit in a communal studio loft in Brooklyn and she asked me to make something for it. I knew I wanted to do something on a large scale so that it would make a visual impact in a big space. I also wanted something bright and colorful, reminiscent of springtime because it was the middle of a terribly cold and dreary winter. I wanted to make something soft and touchable looking, and the tissue paper was a good (and cheap) material for this. I worked every day for about two months, adding a few flowers to the piece every day after work. It was really wonderful to watch the progress of the piece as it crept up my bedroom wall while I was creating it. Each flower is made of about ten or twelve circular layers pinned through the center and affixed to the muslin. Once attached, I pulled and twisted each layer to separate them and create the effect of dimensional petals. A few months ago, I led an informal paper flower making workshop for the Harvard Women's Club to make decorations for a luncheon they were holding. We made about a hundred blooms to adorn the tables as an alternative to floral arrangements."

Leah has recently experimented with marketing her stationary, a line of hand-printed and cut paper cards, online through Etsy. Etsy is such a wonderful outlet and resource for artistic, visual, creative and entrepreneurial people, and I always wanted to try my hand at it. I am finding that there is quite a learning curve to getting things going. I am learning that getting exposure on Etsy is not magic, but requires a great deal of effort and discipline. It involves logging a lot of hours online, reaching out to and connecting with other members of the Etsy community, and really immersing you in a virtual marketplace which is a pretty foreign concept to me."

Etsy is a marketplace, but it is also becoming more and more of a social and business network, and I am learning that finding a niche in that network requires some savvy skills. While the I am finding the business end of Etsy to be a little tricky to navigate, I am loving the creative side of things! Making the products, writing descriptions and styling photographs are greats way of developing professional skills to market my work. I have been making cards because materials are relatively inexpensive and I can do all the work at home without the need for a printing press or large studio. Plus I love sending cards to my friends and family and I wanted to make something that I personally like and use. Making the cards has given me a chance to be experimental on a small scale. I can try out different printing and collage techniques and then move on quickly to the next idea that I have."

"I started off printing directly onto the cards with linoleum blocks, but then I began using a lot of paper cutting and collage techniques. I find that cutting out the hand printed images and then arranging them really enhances the tactile quality of the cards. It gives the card some dimension and weight, turning each one into more of an art object instead of just a piece of ephemera that you throw away."

Besides getting her Etsy shop set up over the summer, Leah has been trying her hand at a lot of new things, experimenting with all kind of art and craft. She explains, "I recently learned how to use my vintage sewing machine, so I am busy coming up with new ideas for sewing projects. I have been working on zippered pouches and plush keychains to add to my Etsy shop. I also have just started dying my own fabrics using Japanese shibori dying methods, which has been really fun! Doing a lot of different kinds of art keeps me moving, energized and inspired to keep on making more art." Leah is hoping to go back to school this fall as a part-time student to study graphic design. She says, "I am feeling that by shifting some of my focus to digital art, it might offer me a whole new set of creative opportunities."

To contact the artist, send email to boudreau.leah@gmail.com or visit her on Etsy to see more of her creations at www.etsy.com/shop/Inkrements.