Pet’s Passing Inspires Artist To Create New Art

I am a cat lover to the extreme. So when my first cat Motor passed away two years ago, I was devastated. Little did I know his passing would inspire me to begin a new body of artwork, fifteen pieces in total, in a brand new medium.

One year ago, I started making handmade prints, linocut prints to be exact, using the many photos I had taken of Motor across the years of his life. He was so photogenic and an inspiration to me.

Motor was a ginger cat, but I chose to make the images of the cats in my prints black, because I wanted to use his image more as a universal symbol for all cats, not just about him specifically.

A few of my prints are also about his passing, about what I want to think he has experienced on the other side of this physical reality. Enlightened, Blessed and Wings are all hopeful images about the after life.

Linocut printing is a handmade printing process, with no presses involved. The process begins with a drawing. Once you have your drawing perfected, you transfer that to a block of linoleum or soft rubber, and then you carve into the block with various size gouges, creating your design. Printing ink is then rolled onto the raised surfaces of the block, paper is laid on top, and then pressure is put on the back of the paper by hand or in a press, and when the paper is lifted, you have your print. Each print comes out slightly different due to the handmade nature of the artwork.

Instagram & Facebook, @MaryAnnTestagrossaArt

More info: MaryAnnTestagrossaArt.com

My Handmade Linocut Prints

Motor, My Original Inspiration

More Handmade Linocut Prints

Mandala

Adorned

Blessed

Enlightened

Paradise

Mandala Blue

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