Portrait of My Sister

Relief Printing

This relief print is a portrait of my little sister, and it is about her recent travels to California. I wanted to express her creative, and courageous spirit. In this piece I am exploring the themes of family, home, and travel. This being only my second relief print I was also investigating the basic tools, techniques, and processes of printmaking.

In this piece texture was a key element in the design. The seashell textures in the background represent the ocean because she travelled from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast. The Horseshoe crabs represent the East coast specifically because that is where my sister and I are from, and horseshoe crabs are native to the New England coastline. I recently learned that Horseshoe crabs will always return to where they were born, to breed and lay their eggs. This is a symbol to represent that even though my sister has travelled far away, New England will always be her home where she can return. I was inspired by images of horseshoe crabs who are known for coming onto the sandy shorelines and creating spiral designs as the scuttle along the sand, this is known as dancing.