Printmaking with a foot in reality

Katherine Mogayzel is a printmaker who lives in Scituate and will exhibit some of her work at the Scituate Town Library, beginning June 30. In an interview with the Globe, she talks about her monotype "Cedar Mist I -- Herring River."

"I live along the Driftway, and for the past few years, the main source of my subjects has been the Herring River and tidal marshes near my home.

This is a view in front of my house to the right, as you would look at the marsh. We had a series of very foggy Saturdays in May, where the sun was trying to get through and created these banks of mist in the cedars.

I like to use the “reduction” method of wiping ink off the plate to get special effects. For the foreground, I laid on some burgundy ink, then I took a rag and wiped out and into that area to create strokes, and grasses, and effects that are irregular. For the trees, I laid on some black ink, wiped it into a shape, created the image, then daubed off ink. Then I could take another pass at it with brush....

Unlike a lot of my sister printmakers, I like to keep a foot in reality. I like doing press-based printmaking -- there are other ways of making prints by hand, and I have a friend who uses an antique oak rolling pin. But I like to use pressure, and a press of that caliber would probably cost about $5,000. It’s on the wish list, you know, but these days I do my work at the South Shore Arts Center in Cohasset.

I print on Mondays. I can be printing sometimes for 10 hours or more, I love it so much. Fortunately, I have good feet. All told, this print took maybe 20 hours, but I made a companion piece to it in about eight hours, because all the problem solving was done, the inks were made, and I was on a roll, so to speak."

Works by Katherine Mogayzel will be on display at the Scituate Town Library's gallery from June 30 to July 26. A larger selection will be exhibited in July and August at the Helen Bumpus Gallery at the Duxbury Free Library.