ARTIST STATEMENT
In one sense the artwork of Paula Schuette Kraemer reflects her own life experiences, yet nostalgia for past times, love of one’s pets, anxieties, love of nature, a desire for calm in a hectic world …. these themes are common to us all. It is the intent of the artist that her work be viewed both as personal and universal comments on life. She tends to follow a theme for one or two years, then moves on as her life progresses and new images shift to the surface. It is not her desire to be known for any one specific theme, but rather to use her artistic ability to portray life’s experiences, often with a slight smile…or a tear.
The artist’s works are predominantly drypoint monoprints and monotypes, although she is also known for her drawings in oil stick on mylar. Her expressive style is reflected in the immediacy and spontaneity of drawing directly into a copper plate using a steel etching needle. During the printing process, ink is intentionally left on the plate so that she can freely wipe, smear and draw into that residual ink. This is what qualifies these artworks as drypoint monoprints and monotypes. The prints within each edition vary, yet the image portrayed, the color, and the composition are constant within each edition. Because so much creativity and time is involved in the actual printing process, only small editions of twenty or fewer are produced.
BIO
Paula Schuette Kraemer studied art history at Vassar College and then completed her undergraduate work in fine art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She went on to receive her Master’s Degree in Fine Art from the University of Wisconsin where she studied both printmaking and ceramics with Warrington Colescott and Bruce Breckenridge. A close alliance with Tandem Press has afforded her the opportunity to learn from many of the Tandem artists who have worked there. All of her work is created and printed at her own Open Gate Press which is located in Madison, Wisconsin. The artist signs her work using her maiden name, Schuette.
