Friday, December 5, 2008

Mary's PRESS and Studio


Here is a picture that Jesus Jaime Mota (a well known photographer here in Mijas) took of Mary's press, studio and her. She has it in Milan for people to see how she makes her etchings. Lovely picture, isn't it.

If you are interested in knowing more about Jesus Jaime, here are a couple of addresses to connect: http://www.jaimemota.es/ and http://www.info@jjaimemota.es/. He also has a new book out called "Rostros", a lovely photo compilation of faces from Mijas, Africa and Asia. Gracias, Jesus!

Milan, Italy!




I am so slow getting things on here - Mary is working hard at the artisan fair in Milan and I haven't even posted the pics of when they picked up her gear! Well, here are a couple of pics of the day they picked everything up (not much of a guess which is my favorite) and I will follow with a great picture of Mary's press!!! oh, and she is in the picture too.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Great Picture of Mary


A friend of ours from Norway, Nina Reistad, who is a professional photographer and takes genuinely magnificent photographs of cats, took some pictures of Mary on her last visit to Mijas and has generously let us use them! This one is lovely and includes one of our neighbors' two kittens (who spend most of the day on our terrace in front of the studio). Mary has named him Genghis and you can see there is quite an attachment there.


Hope you enjoy the picture! To learn more about Nina, check out her websites at: http://www.nrfoto.no/ and http://www.petography.no/. Thank you, Nina!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Mary Eisman at the L'Artigiano in Fiera 2008 in Milan!



This fall, Mary is going to take her etchings to the biggest artisan fair in the world - L'Artigiano in Fiera in Milan, Italy! Three million people visit this fair each year which runs from November 29th to December 8th this year. Lots of work going on in the studio right now preparing for this event - imagine, Milan, the capital of design! We are all thrilled to be participating and hope to introduce Mary's work to new people from all over the world. Here is the fair website if you want to see a bit more - http://www.artigianoinfiera.com/.



If anyone is planning to visit the fair this year, Mary will be in the European Pavilion - more details to follow.

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Where can I see Mary's etchings?



Some of you have asked where you can see Mary's etchings if and when you are visiting Spain (I have just now realized that there are some comments! thank you!! - I learn and see something new every time I go on the site).


Mary is at the market in Puerto Banus (Nueva Andalucia) every Saturday from 9:30ish to 2 pm. It is a huge market and she is at the top of the hill in the shopping center area where there is an underground parking and a supermarket (SuperSol). Mary's stand is located in the center (of the shopping center) across from the gentlemen who sell the Panama hats. Another option is to give her a call and come by the studio to see her work. The phone number (dialing in Spain) is 95-248-60-35 ( add a 34 at the front if dialing from outside the country).

If none of that works and you have something specific in mind, I can email you some pictures in the theme you are looking for - yes, I know, where IS that website??

Thanks for the comments - keep them coming, now that I know where to look for them!

Open House for Artists in Mijas

Last weekend, June 14th and 15th, seventeen artists who live and work in and around Mijas opened their studios to the public to share what they do and how they do it. This is the second year of the Open House and it was a great experience!

Mary had several repeat visitors from last year who brought along some new friends to meet her and see how an etching is made. Milagros Gallego and Teresa Madueno, who work with Mary in her studio took turns explaining the process of creating an etching and showing people how the plate is colored and put through the press to obtain the end result on paper which is the only part most of us ever see. People were thrilled to see how it is done and next year maybe we will set something up which allows people to make their own little etching after watching the process!



Here is a picture of Milagros, Mary and Teresa as they set up for the weekend. Heat withstanding (hottest weekend of the summer so far), we had a great turnout and were all very pleased! Maybe you could drop by next year if you are in Spain!

Sunday, March 30, 2008

What is an etching?


The art of etching has been practiced for more than five hundred years, but it was the Dutch masters, Rembrandt among them, who refined it into its present form in the 17th century.

An etching is produced on a metal plate which has been etched by acid. This plate may be copper, zinc, steel or other metals. After careful cleaning, the plate is prepared by applying a special "ground", an acid resistant coating.

The artist draws her lines into this "ground", with a light point or needle. The plate is then immersed in an acid solution, which bites into the metal where the artist has drawn. The ground protects the rest of the plate from the action of the acid, leaving the artist's creation etched into the metal.

The artist then works ink into the plate. The inks sink into the etched lines and areas of the plate. The artist wipes away any excess ink on the relief surfaces.

Paper is then placed on the inked plate, and the two together are pulled through the rollers of a hand-operated printing press, which prints the image on the paper by pressure.

Etching papers and inks vary widely in quality and feeling. Those of good quality will last for a long, long time. There are many other processes besides the "intaglio" method described here.

The artist then cleans the plate and prepares to go through the inking process again, to produce the next plate, so each etching is an original piece of hand produced art.

The etching plate has a limited lifetime, as the quality of the lines deteriorates under the pressure of the hand press. The artist must know approximately the number of prints that can be made. This is why each original etching is numbered as part of a series.

Your etching will thus be numbered "3/50" for example. This means it is the third in a series of fifty. So you know that your original etching is one of only fifty that exist in the world.

You may also see the designation "A/P". This means "Artist's Proof". Such an etching may be one of a kind, or it may be one of a few extra etchings, never more than ten percent, which the artist has not included in the numbered series. There may also be "working proofs" which the artist makes at various stages of creating the final work.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Mary's Bio or CV




American engraver and painter Mary Eisman was born in Florida and grew up in Argentina, Aruba, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Greece. She lived for extended periods in the United States, Greece, Puerto Rico and Portugal. For the past 20 years she has lived and worked in her own engraving studio in the mountain village of Mijas overlooking the Costa del Sol near Malaga in Spain.

She regards herself as fundamentally self-taught although she attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, the Engraving Workshop of the Cultural Department of Fuengirola in Spain, the Gravura Engraving Workshop in Málaga, and the Mijas Art Center.

She has participated in 23 group exhibitions in Málaga. Her engravings have been shown at galleries in various parts of the United States and Spain. Her work decorates the Hotel Palacio de Figaredo in Mieres, Asturias, and is represented in hundreds of private collections. The municipality of Mijas uses several of her engravings as posters and motifs for events such as the International Day celebration each year.

Mary Eisman’s work can presently be seen at the Galería Arboreda in El Ferrol in Galicia Province, at the Galería Lecrin in Almuñecar in Granada Province, at El Taller in Mijas, at Beneventum in Madrid and at the Blue Heron Gallery in Hinesburg, Vermont.