Portland Power Print

It’s 2008 and I’m standing on a Seattle City Light maintenance hole cover pointing out the cool patterns to a colleague. It’s a gorgeous piece of iron designed by Anne Knight in 1975 and part of the arts council initiative. The cover is a map of downtown Seattle with icons that mark sites and a legend that runs around the rim. It even has a “you are here” steel pin. I admired that cover everyday for the previous year without knowing much about it. At that moment, I ran my fingers across the top and instantly thought, “this feels like a printing block.” The process is simple. Roll or paint water-based block printing ink onto a (sometimes) clean surface, lay down a piece of canvas, press it down with your fingers or hands, and peel it back up. It’s basic relief printing and something I was happy to revisit. Fast forward to now. I’ve collected hundreds of unique prints onto canvas from over 50 cities across the world. Each one is a treasure, a tangible memory of the conversations in the car, the scouring of neighborhoods and back alleys, chatting with locals, collaborating with strangers, finding the “one”, improv color choices, peeling up the canvas, the grease and dirt stains, the sweat, the chance encounters, figuring out how to get it into the car, and the rush on the drive home. Many of these coal chutes, storm drain, sewer, and steam covers are works of art and rich in history that often go unnoticed. They provide glimpses into the past and are some of the first examples of graphic design. Being able to discover, reimagine, and capture that while experiencing the surroundings is my passion. My intention is to expose and celebrate the art that’s around us while connecting others to memories of specific locations or events, a way to own a piece of a place that is meaningful to them in some way.