Clayprints

Clayprints: Michael Cellan and Friends

The Bridge Gallery and The Commons Gallery

218 W. Colorado Avenue, Colorado Springs, CO 80903

August 4-26, 2023

Admission: Free

Review by Jillian Blackwell

A cornucopia of colorful prints spread in a continuous line across the walls of The Bridge Gallery and The Commons Gallery in Colorado Springs. Clayprints, an exhibition of the work of Michael Cellan and friends, showcases a unique and not widely practiced type of monoprinting. [1] Cellan studied under Mitch Lyons, the original creator of the clayprinting technique. Cellan has since developed his own voice utilizing the method and teaches it to others, often with the aid of fellow artist, and former student, Mary Lynn Baird. All the artists in Clayprints are enthusiasts of this clayprinting technique. Their love of the material and joy in its use are apparent in the vibrancy of the display. 

A view of the exhibition Clayprints at The Bridge Gallery in Colorado Springs. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Clayprinting begins with a slab of clay as the printing plate. The artist then builds an image on that surface using kaolin-based pigments. The development of this surface shares many techniques that one might use when decorating the surface of a ceramic vessel. For instance, the artists in this show often use stencils. Or they might scratch into the surface of the clay printing plate—a technique called sgraffito. 

An artist applies kaolin-based pigments onto a clay surface—the first step in the clayprinting process. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

An artist presses the polyester fabric called Reemay onto a prepared composition made with the kaolin-based pigments. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Once a final composition has been achieved on the clay slab, the artist lays on top a rectangle of Reemay—an absorbent polyester fabric used in a variety of situations, from gardening to art conservation. The artist transfers the image with a rolling pin and the back of a spoon, rubbing the back of the Reemay until all of the top layer of clay pigment has lifted off the plate. The completed prints retain much evidence of their materiality—the movement of liquid clay frozen in time, the scratches pulling through the surface of the clay slab, and the fibers of Reemay creating a fuzzy haze.

Mary Lynn Baird, Untitled, clayprint. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Each artist contributes several prints to the show, which intermingle with the work of the other artists, rhyming and playing off one another. Much cohesion is created through a shared color palette and arsenal of techniques. Within this cohesion, each artist carves out their own niche. Mary Lynn Baird’s many works have a signature and steady mid-century modern aesthetic. Baird stencils rounded shapes and series of arches that are reminiscent of patterns one might find on a retro formica diner tabletop. 

Mary Lynn Baird, Untitled, clayprint. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Her particular palette is also a bit of a retro-throwback, with off-tone primaries and secondaries: olive green, mustard yellow, and eggplant purple. The prints are geometric and stylized but with a peppering of chaos, messy edges, and imperfect impressions. Baird balances refinement and chance, leaning into the inherent qualities of this printing technique and thus producing a playful end-product.

Cindy Migliaccio, Untitled, clayprint. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Cindy Migliaccio and Katy Irvin both investigate florals in interesting ways. Migliaccio’s two untitled renditions of flower bouquets hold spiraling blooms and leaves in fat brushstrokes and dabs of color. The bouquets push up against the edge of the compositions, bountiful and bursting. 

Katy Irvin, Blue Bulbs, clayprint. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Irvin’s Blue Bulbs is a playful rendering of flower bulbs that mirror each other across a dividing horizon line. Delicate, incised lines repeat curves within the lower bulb while the upper bulb is a patch of pattern, layered on top of a background of light blue flower patterning. Both artists create floral compositions that are joyful and sweet, buoyant in their affect.

Miki Reddy, Blue Beam 1, clayprint. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

The approach of Tamara Folven Anderson and Miki Reddy and their handling of the material is distinct within the collection. Their pieces tend to be less graphic and more expressive in their active mark-making. Reddy’s Blue Beam 1 and Blue Beam 2 each have a central blue mass that radiates outward with incised marks, revealing layers of color underneath. 

Tamara Folven Anderson, Shark Tooth Bay Welle, clayprint. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Folven Anderson’s Shark Tooth Bay Welle treads into representational territory. Fast scratches of the waves and dotted bits of foam that look as though they were fingerpainted emphasize the rolling, cresting motion of the waves. Melt has a simplicity and somberness—a few wide black brushstrokes swipe across a field of creamy white that fades away at the edge of the image. 

Michael Cellan, #8, clayprint, 2023. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Michael Cellan, #10, clayprint, 2023. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Michael Cellan’s work impressively employs a variety of techniques and subject matter, from representational to abstract, and yet maintains a singular voice. His prints function as the glue within the exhibition, creating linkages between all the artists. Cellan wields a mature use of restraint and is always economical in his use of marks. He knows when to leave a field blank and how to balance the scale of compositional elements. #8 and #10 might be his most successful pieces in the show. Cellan balances dual fields of dots reminiscent of a Yayoi Kusama infinity net painting. His binary color selections—black and white, purple and orange, red and green—reinforce the duality. Cellan’s familiarity with clay printing is evident; his mastery is apparent. 

Michael Cellan, Map of the World—Eat, clayprint, 2018. Image by Jillian Blackwell.

Clayprints: Michael Cellan and Friends is colorful and light, and the kinship of the makers is on display. Walk along the line of prints and see what is possible with this intriguing technique. Clayprinting merges the spontaneity of clay and the trace-quality of printmaking. If you have never seen a clayprint in person, this is not a show to be missed. 

Jillian Blackwell (she/her) is an Editorial Coordinator at DARIA as well as an artist, curator, and gallerist. She holds a BA in Fine Arts with a Concentration in Ceramics from the University of Pennsylvania. In May of 2024, she will graduate with her Masters in Fine Arts from the Painting program at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

[1] Exhibiting artists include Tamara Folven Anderson, Mary Lynn Baird, Michael Cellan, Kate Dulaney, Tracy Frickey, Katy Irvin, Sandy Kinnee, Cindy Migliaccio, Allie Moore, Miki Reddy, Clyde Tullis, and Tiffany Yonts.