Act justly, love mercy.
the backstory of "Mercy" and "Volta" prints
Welcome to Wandering Home. If you’re new around here, I’m glad you found me!
As you may know, I recently launched an Etsy Shop called ShelbyMathisStudios that I’m keeping open only through the month of May. It’s a shop of my fine art and photography that I’m using to fund the much-needed sabbatical I’m taking this fall. If you missed any previous Wandering Home letters, you can read more about this approach and my philosophy as an artist in A new offering (my sabbatical and art exchange) and Art as resistance (my philosophy of art as a tool, language, and weapon).
I recently did a giveaway of this “Hope” photograph from my Etsy Shop, and pleased to tell you Candace Trammell is the winner of an 11x14 print! Yay, Candace! Thanks to all who shared my shop and are helping me get the word out to sell more prints.
This week and next, I want to share with you some art from my Etsy shop along with how or why I made them because the backstory of pieces are as much a part of the work as the ink or image or paper. I want to show you how I love to draw connections between places and people, and build bridges between communities, and how my work is often inspired and influenced by art, travel, people, and current events. I want you to see the deeper stories that I see when I look at my body of work.
Let’s travel a bit, shall we? This week to West Africa. Next week, the Middle East.
The following were inspired by the humanitarian work of Mercy Project, a non-profit based in Ghana, West Africa. Their mission is to rescue children from slavery on Lake Volta. They partner with families and communities trapped in the cycle of poverty, empowering them with sustainable economic solutions in order to free children from forced labor.
I was introduced to their work by a friend when I lived in San Antonio, Texas, over ten years ago. Together we attended a fundraiser gala in Bryan/College Station, where I heard stories of relationship, rescue, and reconciliation in Ghana. I couldn’t have even told you where Ghana was on a map before that night, much less about the challenges of eradicating child slavery on Lake Volta.
I learned how Mercy Project was effectively partnering with villages and teaching them sustainable fishing practices through aquaculture (fish farming), which eliminated the need for kids to work on the lake. Once the children were rescued, they provided rehabilitation, opportunity, and reunification for them. To this day, because of their sustainable services provided after reunification, ZERO kids rescued and rehabilitated through Mercy Project have been re-trafficked. 100% are out of trafficking and enrolled in school or vocational training.
As I did at that art auction gala way back in 2012, I still find a lot of hope in Mercy Project’s work. Their mission and current and former staff continue to inspire and challenge me toward the possibility of making change in the word through learning, relationship, action, and love.
Mercy
📍Ghana, West Africa
If I said this is one of my favorite things I’ve ever made, would you believe me?
This hand drawn design is based on a photograph of a man untangling fishing line on Lake Volta. The symbol in the bottom right references the scripture Micah 6:8, a guiding verse of the mission of Mercy Project which says: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
Here's how it was made: Lithography is a planographic printmaking process in which a design is drawn onto a flat stone and affixed by means of a chemical reaction. The printing is from a limestone slab with a smooth surface. First, the design for the lithograph is drawn directly onto a polished slab of limestone using an oil-based greasy pencil. The stone is then processed or etched with chemicals. The chemical reaction between the solution and the stone fixes the greasy image that is drawn with the oil-based lithographic crayon. At the same time, the solution ensures that the blank areas of the stone will absorb water and repel printing ink.
The stone is dampened and inked repeatedly until the entire image is thoroughly inked. The stone is placed with the image facing up on a flatbed lithographic press, and a damp sheet of paper is laid on top. A flatbed pressure bar on the press is lowered onto the the stone, and is dragged across the greased surface as it passes through the press. Once the stone has been run through the hand cranked press, the resulting impression on paper displays a reverse image of the original composition drawn onto the stone.
All that to say: it's highly technical, labor intensive, and an incredible feat of technology to print from harvested limestone. I've spent some time on limestone (back when I did a lot of rock climbing) and I love making art with it in this way. There's truly no other technique like it.
I made a series of only 8 "Mercy" prints, and they're almost gone. Get one while you still can. 20% of the profit of sales of “Mercy” will go to Mercy Project, because I want to support them too.
Volta
📍Ghana, West Africa
Using further inspiration from the work of Mercy Project, I created a second series called “Volta.”
This design is based on a photograph of two young boys and their master working on Lake Volta. The image features elements of a fishing net, and collage paper that represent natural elements like water and wood.
Here’s how this one was made: Intaglio printing is the opposite of relief printing, in that the printing is done from ink that is below the surface of the plate. Among intaglio techniques are engraving, etching, drypoint, aquatint, and mezzotint. The design is hand or chemically etched into a copper plate using a variety of techniques, one subtle layer at a time.
Ink is then spread on the metal plate, wiped away from the surface using a dry cheese cloth. The inked plate and water-soaked paper are run through a hand cranked press. The press exerts a massive amount of pressure to force ink out of the etched microscopic crevices to create a single print.
A single print is the effort of days of work designing, etching, and planning the print.
These pieces also use a chine collé technique, also referred to as collage intaglio, which is achieved by bonding physical elements like thin, transparent paper between the plate and paper. This is the varying color and design seen on the boat, and I altered the ink tints to complement the chine collé.
This is a series of only 5 "Volta" prints. Each one is totally unique in color, collage paper, and details. If you’d like to have one, snag it now! 20% of the profit of sales of “Volta” will go to Mercy Project.
Thanks for being here, and a special thank you to those of you who have contributed my sabbatical by buying art on my Etsy store. It means the world to have you be a part of this with me!
Bloom Where You’re Planted
I just introduced this cute “Bloom Where You’re Planted” print that I designed. I offered it over the weekend in exchange for a smaller contribution to my sabbatical. I can still send you one if you want to send $15 or more to me via Venmo! I know not everyone can afford what I am offering on Etsy, but this is an easy way to be a part of my fundraising support for my fall sabbatical. Here’s my link:
That’s all for now. Congrats again to Candace! Thanks to those of you who’ve purchased art and supported my sabbatical. You know who you are, and I’m so incredibly grateful.
Until next time,
