The process of collaborating on this printmaking residency made me a little nervous. I have collaborated in the past with other artists on specific projects, but often I had already established a good working relationship with that person and our working styles or methodology had been similar. This time, at Kala, it would be a leap into the unknown. As a sculptor and printmaker, I knew my collaborator’s previous work to be large scale, bold and often monochromatic, which honestly, I found a little intimidating. My current explorations with Japanese water-based printmaking techniques (mokuhanga) have been small-scale and though ambiguous, often reference a narrative. Brisson-Darveau’s works are more concerned with the abstract, although narrative exists within that. We are used to working very differently in terms of scale and production, yet our commitment to completing projects is mirrored in one another. The similarities that each of us are image makers, printmakers, and have a playful approach to our practices, will help to establish connections within the project. Together, I wondered how we would navigate the terrain of this printmaking collaboration, at an unfamiliar studio in a new city to both of us.
