Pamela Wesolek - Biography

Biography

I was born in Wisconsin and went to college at St. Olaf in Minnesota where I became enamored with printmaking. For the past thirty years I have been creating copper plate etchings which I have exhibited widely in New Mexico and internationally. After graduating with my Bachelor Degree in Fine Art I spend a year at Kowloon University in China.

I was drawn to the sunshine of New Mexico and moved to Albuquerque 1999 to take graduate level classes at UNM. I have been a member as well as masterprinter, framer and shop manager at New Grounds Print Workshop since 2020. Printmaking is a communal endeavor. At the studio we share presses, tools and ideas often helping one another with oversized projects. Printmaking is process driven and I enjoy seeing a print come to fruition. I have never tired of the delicate mark making this medium allows and have more ideas now than ever.

Artist Statement

As a lifelong observer of the natural world, time spent outside conveys itself in my first language, making art. The organic world can be viewed as individual entities or larger components of nature such as the seasons or angles of light. The distillation of this influence channeled through inherent design problems allows the pieces to evolve in their own organic sense. This creates works that are an extension, not only an expression, of the natural world.

The flatness of the gravure method mirrors the strength of the sun in the Southwest and its ability to devise shadows; whereas the cut out designs are charged with the dynamic weather elements known to this region. Balancing this design angle, the etching process contains an intimacy which reaches back to a deep affinity with the subject matter capturing nuances of fauna personality. The layering of chine colle papers and the multiple processes used creates a transcription of environmental complexities.