Today we’d like to introduce you to Helen Gotlib.
Hi Helen, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and always knew I wanted to be an artist from the time I was really small. I went to the University of Michigan School of Art and Design and concentrated on printmaking and scientific illustration while I was there. I always loved to do detailed drawings and found that I appreciated the process of printmaking and that it allowed me to make multiples to reproduce my images. For that reason, I thought that it might be a good way to make a living after graduating from school. I also studied abroad for a year in Japan to learn more about traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking. Since I draw most of my inspiration from nature and different places I’ve traveled, that trip made a profound impression on me and probably dictated some of how my work looks today. After graduating, I started showing my work on the art fair circuit at first locally and then gradually around the country. Slowly I collected galleries to show my work in different states as well. Now my time is divided between being at home in the studio about 9 months a year and traveling the other 3 months to various big cities to show my work.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There is no clear path to make a living as an artist in this world. Mine has been one of trial. Figuring out which art fairs and galleries are appropriate for my work required trying a lot of different things. I think I’m lucky that I grew up in Ann Arbor and had gone to the Ann Arbor Art Fair every summer as a kid. That gave me a starting point. It was a place where I saw other artist actually selling their work so that’s where I started and the rest, I guess is history!
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My newest works are all large-scale mixed-media printmaking pieces. All nature-inspired. I often print woodgrain off of different types of plywood or tree cookies to gain background texture that can describe water, grass, clouds or any other natural element. Then I work on drypoint plates to be printed on top of those woodblocks. They have a large-scale drawing look to them but also a 3D effect from the ink which lends the pieces an unusual tactile quality. Once I’m done printing, I adhere the works onto birch panels and varnish, gild and sometimes even carve back into the pieces making them all individual.
I live in the Michigan woods, and that’s a constant source of inspiration for me. I travel a lot and definitely get inspiration from the road as well. But when I come home to Michigan, it often makes me feel like I have everything I need to draw from right here in this ever-changing state. I love the seasons; I love how going out in the woods everyday and hiking clears the mind. I’m fascinated by watching the slight variation from day to day in the forest. These experiences all inform my landscape and botanical works.
What do you think about happiness?
Creating artwork, problem-solving in the studio, being around other artists, and being outside in nature as much as possible (if it’s summertime I’d always rather be swimming than anything else!) That’s happiness for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.helengotlib.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helengotlib/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HelenGotlibArtist/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CM-W4bMZHA
Image Credits
Dylan Strzynski
Pamela Clous
December 8, 2022 at 9:24 pm
Your paintings are also especially the daisy one I love it. I will look for your work at art shows