I met a character yesterday — her name is Lyna Lou, and she’s a self-described “printmaking pusher.”  Actually, my fellow Studio Place Arts classmates and I dubbed her that – but she’s really just a very passionate and talented printmaker from northern Vermont, and a pretty fun person!

Monoprint images © Mary Jane Russell 2010

In hindsight I should have known I’d fall for this new technique/ medium because mono-printing, collograph, and nature printing aren’t that different from what I’ve done with fabric for years.  Yet I really don’t have to confess to a new hobby, just because it involved an etching press and paper rather than fabric, . . . or do I?  Unless Until I move the looms around in the downstairs studio to make more space, and start searching eBay for used presses, I think I’m OK.

For now anyway.

What are some of the supporting or ancillary mediums or techniques that you dabble in, while maintaining your primary artistic focus?  How do you recognize when a serious new path emerges, and distinguish it from a dead-end diversion? Oh, and for my own sanity check I should ask . . . how many “hobbies” do you have?