Barbara Rosenthal
Statement
Over forty years ago the man who became my husband offered to teach me how to make etchings. I found it exciting and mysterious — and I still do. Working on metal is also hard work, and there is the waiting and wondering how it will all turn out. Over the years there has been plenty of room to experiment, leading to failures and successes, but never to boredom.
My prints are usually based on favorite pages from my sketchbooks, including something I saw that seemed perfect, or a feeling or idea that came out through my hand. The best part of art is when someone connects and says, “Yes! I get that!”
Biography
Except for a couple of years in Spain, I have lived all my life in different parts of California, growing up near Menlo Park before it became trendy and graduating from UC Berkeley during troubled times. From childhood, I loved any way of making “stuff” — woodburning, enameling, modeling clay, sewing — whatever came my way. And from my parents I learned a love for nature. The oak trees behind our home provided my first drawing challenges and were polite enough to hold still. Throughout my life I have continued my art education in colleges and private workshops.
On the Central Coast I have been an art teacher in the public schools and an art workshop leader for adults. I have been in leadership positions in the San Luis Obispo Art Center, the Central Coast Printmakers, and the San Luis Artists Gallery. Currently I am part of Studios on the Park in Paso Robles, and my work is carried by Amphora Gallery in Cambria.
Images
Dogwood
Mezzotint, 3.25 x 4.5"
Solitary Cabin
Etching, 5 x 7"
Live Oak Road
Etching with chine collé, 4 x 6"
Summer Rain
Etching with aquatint, 8.25 x 17.5"
Tectonics
Etching with aquatint, 9 x 12"
Survivor
Etching, 6 x 4"
This Tangled Life with Mischief Makers
Etching with relief and embossing, 12 x 10"
Chill
Linocut, 5.5 x 8"