Pascale Jarvis
ABOUT ME
Pascale Jarvis is a nonbinary (they/them/theirs), queer printmaker - and sometimes writer. They learned their craft, relief printing, while studying creative writing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, honing it while farming and refurbishing an old farmhouse at the foot of Mt. Tom post-graduation. Pascale's artistic focus on the interplay of whimsy and careful visual grammar stems from a commitment to slow living that emphasizes attention on small, intimate details and connection to place.
THE PROCESS
My block printing process begins with a blank sheet of linoleum and the itch to recreate something mesmerizing I usually have photographed during a hike or while out in the dirt. After sketching the design onto the linoleum, I begin to carefully carve away at the design using specialized chisels and the interplay between negative and positive space. Carving itself is quite time-consuming and taxing on the back, so this part of the process can take weeks or even months to complete. Once the design is all carved away and ready to be printed, I squeeze out ink onto a flat surface, or plate, and roll the ink smoothly onto the block using a tool called a brayer, which kind of acts as a small rolling pin with a handle. Then, I place the inked-up block carefully on a garment and press, press, press with all my might and focus, using a wooden spoon - or a similar type of tool called a baren - to transfer the design, like a stamp without a handle, onto a garment.