Blackberry And Sun
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ABOUT ME
Hi my name is Victoria, welcome to Blackberry & Sun, named after the nostalgic, warm, sunny memories from my childhood picking warm blackberries in the afternoon sun in the Pacific Northwest.
I was born and raised outside of Seattle on the Kitsap Peninsula on the rocky shores of the Hood Canal in a small town called Seabeck, WA. For the last 6 years, I have been studying and living in sunny Boulder, Colorado. I got an undergraduate degree in Business management with an emphasis in sustainability, but it wasn’t calling to me. It didn’t feel right in my heart to try and change the world from behind a desk, so I turned towards working with my hands. I took a printmaking class during my last semester in college in 2022, and I fell in love and have been printmaking ever since.
This year I took a trip to Argentina and Chile where I spent 4 months learning Spanish. After visiting art markets to practice my Spanish, my trip quickly made an unexpected turn toward talking to as many artists as I possibly could. Conversations about art quickly transformed into talking about local issues, beliefs about life, artistic collaborations, and strong friendships. These experiences left me craving for more human connection, which has deeply transformed how I operate as an artist- creating art for the purpose of creating community and sharing ideas.
From the Pacific Northwest salmon runs, Colorado Wildflowers, to the jagged peaks of Patagonia, my work is shaped by my relationships, life experiences and the deep sense of gratitude I have for nature. My art is a reflection of my values- ecological appreciation and conservation, human connection, self-confidence, community, and whatever else feels profound in the chapter of life I am in.
ABOUT MY ART
I work across various mediums including painting, digital art, and photography, but my main medium is relief printmaking, where I carve an image into a wood or linoleum block. From there, I roll archival ink onto the block and hand-press the image onto carefully hand-torn paper. No modern digital printers are used in printmaking.
Printmaking has such a special place in my heart because it aligns with my values. Printmaking is a slow, hands-on process by nature that turns its back away from “fast art” such as the rise of AI-generated art, industrial screenprinting, and licensed digital prints that you would find in Target or Ross.
Unlike other traditional mediums such as drawing or painting where there will only ever be one, expensive original worth thousands of dollars, relief printmaking allows me to carve, print, and deliver an edition of original art at more affordable prices.
LET'S KEEP IN TOUCH
website: www.blackberryandsun.com
instagram: @blackberryandsun
