Sissy Buck

Statement

As a printmaker and book artist I am drawn to abstract patterns found in nature and the expressive gesture of line in drawing and handwriting. My prints include paper lithography, monotype, trace drawing, direct painting, eco-print, and cyanotype. The abstractions and layers inherent in the printmaking process leave liminal traces between the familiar and the unknown. New images, stories, and conversations unfold.  

My work for the past 6 years has explored the cyanotype medium and the ocean. Seaweed, sand, and, most recently, plastics are placed onto the prepared paper and exposed to the sun. Transported to the ocean’s edge the paper is dipped into and developed in the salt water. As the ocean waves wash over the paper, images and unexpected patterns slowly come to life. These and the varying blues in the print call to mind the movement of the ocean, while the ochre hues from leached mudflat silts and seaweed remind us of what lies beneath.

Brief Bio

Sissy Buck is a printmaker and book artist living on the coast in southern Maine. Introduced to traditional printmaking techniques by Professor Vaino Kola as a freshman at Wheaton College, Ma. she received her B.A. in Art History with a minor in Studio Art there in 1979. While living in California her work turned in a new direction after seeing an exhibit of Calla Lily and Brayer monotypes by Michael Mazur. Monotypes opened new possiblities, freedom, and experimentation. Printmaking studies continued in Massachusetts at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Montserrat College of Art, Beverly, and at the DeCordova Museum School, Lincoln. A book arts course in 2008 with Rebecca Goodale offered another focus for her prints as content for her artist’s books. She has been a member of the Peregrine Press for 19 years, is a member of the the Monotype Guild of New England and the Book Arts Critique Group at the University of Southern Maine Kate Cheney Chappell ‘83 Center for Book Arts. She has exhibited in New England and beyond, and her work is in many collections.