Debra James Percival

Artist Printmaker

 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

I am Debra James Percival, an artist, non-toxic printmaker, instructor and Mom. I work in the mediums: intaglio type, collagraph, monoprint, wood cut, polyester plate lithography, water based silkscreen, copper/aluminum etching and lots of photography.  My artwork is influenced by my zest for exploring possibilities through experimentation, playing with my imagined world and my physical world out doors.  My love of the printmaking medium started with printing on fabric at College.  After graduating I started working on paper and I loved the idea of editioning an image with different colors, exploring the many possibilities with one image.   Collaging images and ideas is a big part of my work, and that is why Intaglio type printing is such a fascinating medium for me.

 I graduated from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in 1984.  I have played with lots of possibilities, but my main passion since 1998 has been non-toxic printmaking. Working in the medium of non-toxic printmaking, enables me to work at home.  I do not need acids or solvents when printmaking.  I love painting and drawing directly on copper and aluminum plates when etching.  Playing with my photography, I collage photos to create new imagery to create Intaglio Type prints with ImagOn. During my college years I spent most of my time in textiles designing fabric in the weaving studio and printing and painting on fabric in the textile studio. Today technology has taken a forefront in my art and I find it an interesting experience.  I started exploring computer possibilities to replace the traditional darkroom halftone process in printmaking. The next logical step was to explore computer possibilities to create imagery working with photography.  I have always taken pictures but had never made it my central art medium until in 2006 when I explored possibilities of combining photo collages and sound for   “An Islander’s Perspective”.

I am presently working on a show called "One With Copper" and it is all about the Art of Playing.  You can follow along with the whole process on my weekly blog  "A Printmakers Blog About Art and Printmaking" .  The show will include a lot of photography of an art installation in different locations, photo collages, a copper sculpture, copper etchings using lots of non-toxic printmaking.   The project is an enormous amount of work which I promised myself would only be light-hearted and fun.   At the end of the journey of exploring and creating with the copper plates; there will be a warm bodied people showing and a computer virtual showing of the final project.  This will be a long process and the project will follow along with whatever is happening in my life, such as moving to Ottawa, Ontario. 

   Check out my  Redbubble shop for some of my photography.  All the best Everyone!

This is me having a smashing good time!

Artist Non-Toxic Printmaker Debra James Percival