Wonder

Helen Bragger

Interview by L. Valena

February 3, 2022

Please start by describing the prompt that you responded to.

I got an image that had gorgeous colors and was very striking. It had lots of triangles, and because of the different shapes of the triangles it looked quite 3D. I loved the colors, all the purples and oranges together. It's not the order of the colors I would use, but that actually made it more interesting to look at as it wasn't strictly a rainbow, which is what one would automatically assume it was.

And what was your first thought that you remember?

My thought was that I want to do something that is 3D. I got vibes of Mayan temples, so that's the direction I went in. There were also vibes of mosaic art. I like the repeating patterns and different shapes, not just sticking to triangles. To start I really focused on the Mayan Temple idea. It's based around Chichen Itza in Mexico. It was a bit different for me to do a linocut print of a building. Most of my lino prints are very nature based, but I thought I'd give it a go.

I did make a mistake. I've got two blocks of the temple because the first time I carved the wrong negative space. I started cutting the original one and realized that the colors were going to be too bold so I went back around, flipped the area I carved out, and completed the one that I'm happy with.

Wow, I am so impressed with your commitment that you started over. That is a lot of work!

Actually, the second one took a lot longer than the first one because of the thinness of the lines. I carved away a lot less on the first try and it just didn't look right. Thankfully I had enough time to redo it and the first block didn’t take a lot of time!

That’s such a commitment to vision. I really respect that.

The main issue it caused was that, by printing in linseed ink, it meant I did the actual printing several days after I expected. Towards the end when I was doing the painting element, I was a bit worried that I was going to be smudging it because the ink wasn't quite dry.

Looks like it worked out!

Thankfully yes.

You said you went right for this idea of a Mayan temple. Is that something that's come up in your work before? Something you have a relationship with?

No, not at all. Most of my work is nature based, but with my photography over the years I have a collection of what I call Weird Angles of Buildings. To get that 3D element, I thought of the strange angles of buildings to get the perspective.

That's so cool. So how does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

I wouldn't say it does really, because so much of my work is based around nature. I don't use so many colors usually. I do printing and also weaving which, while not as monochromatic as printing, still uses limited colors so it's quite a different thing for me. It was quite an interesting piece to explore. I've got this single color for the Mayan temple, and then I wanted to put more color into the piece overall. Watercolor painting is something that I've been dabbling with fairly recently and I had a few tests trying some rainbows which didn’t work. I wasn’t trying to get it to necessarily look like a sunrise or sunset, but at least have color variation. I wasn't having much luck. So then I looked back… Triangles! Why don't I try to incorporate the triangles? Partway through some of my friends asked “Why are you painting the building on fire?” Hopefully the other side balances it out and people don't think it's on fire, but it is a different take on a sunset using watercolors and gouache.

You keep saying that your work is usually more nature based and I think it’s so interesting how connected the temple is to the natural world. The Mayans figured out more than we ever will. We’re chasing our tails trying to solve the riddle of the universe and they got so much further. By the way, I have actually been to Chichen Itza.

Did you recognize it??

Yeah, I did. It's an absolutely amazing structure. There are 364 steps and the temple is aligned with the cardinal directions. It's this amazing feat of human brilliance, so it's so cool to see this linocut of it! It's perfect.

I'm pleased that it connected with you in that way because that wasn't something I had the connection to myself. I did do lots of tiny stairs. Not quite that many, but I did do quite a few!

I know, I can see them and it’s triggering some memories for me! Is there anything that we haven't talked about yet that you want to touch on?

It was a really good opportunity for me to look at using colors. It went surprisingly well considering it was freehand. Because I'm still exploring the medium, it was a good way of learning to control the paint. I do plan a lot of my projects very carefully with a lot of preparation work. Because of the time constraints and the medium I chose, I couldn't do that. So it was a good chance for me to push my boundaries, which I really needed. I also work with alcohol inks and with that you only have so much control. For me, it's a very good holiday from my extremely controlled circumstances. It's definitely done me good!

Do you find that kind of tension to feel challenging or nice? Or both?

Both. It is a challenge. I like my well-planned work, but you need variety and you can only creatively grow if you push yourself. And this has pushed me. I brought the linocuts from very organic pieces to something architectural but then, as you pointed out, it is nature. So it could be on the cards that I do some more buildings like this with the nature around the lino print.

Do you have any advice for another artist approaching this project for the first time?

Just throw yourself into it. You haven't got anything to lose, and you do have things to gain. It was a bit daunting because I applied so soon before I got going. Gwen Edwards told me about the project, and she said to just go into it and track what you're doing. Keep notes. And don't feel like you're going to insult the previous artist, despite not knowing the vision behind it. I've taken this piece in the direction of a Mayan temple with a sunset, but there's so many other directions it could go in. I think it's great that there's a project that will have some sort of lineage. I'm not sure if I've made it difficult for the next artist because I think mine's a bit out there, however that's what this community is about. That's the joy of artists being connected to each other. That's what I love about community, and I'm pleased to have come across this one.

Call Number: M49VA | M52VA.braWo

Helen Bragger is UK based and works to stop financial fraud. She loves to explore multiple arts and crafts mediums to feel connected to history and nature. She has a particular focus on fiber art, such as weaving, and linocut printing.