press

step
foot
 stoneh
 cave
 coyote
 holy

“My creativity
feels like a divine gift to me, and I honor the gift by making my art about Spirit.
I am inspired by places of mystery, ancient ritual and celebration, such as the megalithic, solar aligned temples of Malta, the standing stone circles of Stonehenge, shamanic cave drawings.
I want to express the numinous quality of life, where the elements of nature and the stories and the stones and the places of power come alive and speak to us on a deeper level.
”

Caren Catterall,
Sonoma County Printmaker
Open Studio November 4 and 5, 2011

Presenting a dream of Malta
"The People with Spirits Strong as Stone"

This is a video of a dream that came to me while on a pilgrimage to Malta in 2004. A story and a body of work came out of that experience, and is presented to you here as a video. Please enjoy and pass it along.

Caren Catterall graduated from California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland CA in 1974, with a degree in printmaking. Although etching is her primary medium, she frequently works in collagraph, serigraph, and monoprint. Her studio is located in the Barracks Studio Santa Rosa, a historical building that used to be a part of the Navy airbase in Santa Rosa, CA. There is an annual open house for the building each fall, this year Novemer 4 & 5, celebrating over 25 years of creative spaces. Visitors are welcome at other times of the year by appointment. You can also visit, see the latest work, and comment on Facebook at Caren Catterall Divine Inspiration Art.

For many years after college Caren had no access to a press, and turned to other ways of creativity. She found the etching classes at Santa Rosa Junior College and eventually became the print lab technician, a job she has now held for over fifteen years.

In 2002 she got a small press, and arranged to share a studio with Greg Brown in the Barracks building at the old Santa Rosa Naval Base. They created the Studio Print Shop, with members to share the facility, and inspiration and encouragement.

In 2005 Greg moved away with his press, but Caren was able to find a large, old Sturges CP5 star wheel press at a very reasonable price. The day of delivery was exciting and nerve wracking, as they hoisted the 850 pound heart of the press through the second story back door with a fork lift. In addition to the two presses, the shop has equipment for etching both copper and zinc, an aquatint box, lots of space for working, and wonderful light.

Recently, friends have been asking for her to teach a class and so in the spring of 2011 she started teaching monotype one Saturday a month. This is a great introduction to a fun and unlimited medium. You can join in the adventure of printmaking, with its layers, unexpected happy accidents, ghosts, surprise reversals, and share a sense of community around the press. See Classes for details.