Artist Statement

Deborah Stratford

My art medium is printmaking, specifically, relief printmaking. I carve the surface of linoleum or wood with small gouges. I then roll ink over the surface with a brayer, and press the image to the paper with pressure from the cylinders of a press. I print because I am fascinated with the process and how the process transforms the image I create. Plate to press involves many options and decisions. There is a window of unknown results. With each cut with a gouge there is no turning back and doing it over. 

Imagery is about what I see.  I often look around and think a long time about how my observations tell a story. This I tell with a collection of objects, places, people and animals printed. My hope is that my work encourages others to look deeper and longer at what surrounds them.