Artist Christa Carleton is hosting an artist talk at the University of Wyoming on the 15th of October for students and community members interested in the fine art of screen-printing, letterpress, and woodcutting. Carleton defines her work as “punchy” in topic matter, in which she is inspired by “any sort of vintage movie poster or propaganda”.
Letterpress is a process in which a raised or carved element is covered in ink and stamped onto paper. These can be either pre-fabricated or homemade. Printmaking and woodcutting involve similar elements, where the artist must carve out what they want the print to become before they begin the inking process.
Carleton’s choice of medium is mainly influenced by convenience and interest: as a young woman, she admitted that she was “overwhelmed” by the number of outcomes that painting and drawing could have. More appropriately, she was attracted to the more rigid nature of printmaking, where the outcomes have a baseline level of consistency. Letterpress, woodcutting, and printmaking all have a principal idea of creating a single element for many prints. For example, Carleton specifically enjoys using antique letterpress, because she gains inspiration from imagining who and why they were using the chosen font.
In her youth, Carleton’s experiences with her mother and her teachers shaped her ideas around art, and even played a role in her creation of more provocative pieces. Her high school art teacher allowed Carleton to sneak in nude self-portraits for her assignments, and her mother helped her in this process. Carleton expressed that, in that very moment, she learned that art could be controversial – and she began on the path to her current works. “I felt like such a rebel,” Carleton said. Of course, Carleton recognizes now that it was a risky stunt for her Missouri teacher to pull. With Carleton’s work, nude figures and body pieces are normalized to her, and commonly show up within her art. Carleton wants to showcase bodies of all kinds, and she is particularly “dedicated to portraying unidealized bodies.”
Carleton’s art process is a slow, but careful one. She is happy to do 5-10 pieces a year, as she works full time in textile printing. Any art outside of that is simply extra for her. Often, she says, her ideas begin with vague concepts that she eventually develops into a full piece. As with many artists, she begins with the notes app. After her idea has solidified a bit more, she will sketch it out and play with the concepts until she believes the composition is pleasing to the eye.
Carleton’s artist talk at the University is all thanks to the Professor of Printmaking, Lars Roeder, reaching out to her. For those fascinated by her story and the work she creates, she will go into much further depth during the artist talk on the 15th.
