Our newest printerview is with Colorado Springs-based printer Hailey Walsh. We were most taken with Hailey's series of photopolymer plates titled "Schema I and II", a few of which are included above. Hailey kindly answered our questions below:
When did you start printing?
My mom is an artist so I have grown up always making art. It wasn’t until I discovered printmaking, however, that I felt like I had discovered an art form I was truly passionate about.
When I was looking at schools, I visited Colorado College as a prospective student and sat in on a book making class in the Press. It was love at first sight. My early obsession with letterpress eventually led to a love of all different forms of printmaking. I’ve been printing year round ever since.
Where do you make your work? Home studio? Shared print space?
At school, I have an incredible third floor studio space with an amazing view of the mountains. Most of my time however, is spent in the basement printshop. I love the community aspect of printmaking, and I enjoy working among the energy of other students and professors most.
When home for the summer, I have worked internships at places such as the Lower East Side Printshop and the Printmaking Center of New Jersey, where I have access to the studio in exchange for work hours. I also have a Utrecht Baby Press, which is this tiny little thing with a 7 x 12 “ press bed. Whenever I am home and feeling withdrawal from the printshop I can crank out a few post card sized prints on that baby.
Who would you love to collaborate with?
I’ve worked with a lot of the same students during my four years of undergraduate and have really loved watching their work develop and have become really attached to so much of it. All of the students in my program are so talented and every day I see someone different making something that I wish I could pop into one of my prints. It is a really inspiring group of people to work among and everyone is so supportive that a lot of days feel almost like one giant collaboration.
In terms of professional artists, is it too lofty to ask Michael Heizer if he wouldn’t mind if I made photopolymer prints of his sculptures?
Where are some of your favorite spaces in Colorado Springs and beyond for contemporary art or design?
UCCS’ Galleries of Contemporary Art (Goca) hosts really exciting events and openings regularly and it is a great chance to see what other local artists are up to. The Denver Art Museum is also always a wonderful spot for inspiration.