CATHERINE BROOKS PROJECTS
master printer’s collection
ALCHEMICAL TRANSFORMATION
Over twenty years ago I was initiated into the art of alchemy (traditional copper plate etching) by my former French printmaking master, Maître d’Art René Tazé. As a young woman just out of college, entering his small Parisian atelier felt like walking into an alchemist’s laboratory. Stepping within was stepping through a portal to centuries past. I was immediately allured by the briny smell of copper corroding in ferric chloride, blended with the odors of beeswax, pine rosin, tar, and wet wool. I was enchanted by the dynamic energies of collaboration between artist and artisan. My senses were seduced by French language, cuisine, and cultural norms. I underwent a fundamental transformation and felt that I had found my métier and raison d’être.
My initiation in France led to a long career in the arts in which I mastered material alchemy and the art of collaboration. I authored a book about etching and taught in studios around the world. As rewarding as preserving an obscure craft can be, I knew that etching was holding a place in my life for another kind of alchemy, of soul and psyche.
A couple of years ago, amidst another transformative phase of my life, after the initiations of the birth of my daughter and death of my mother, I dreamt I was back in Atelier René Tazé, but the famed psychiatrist, C.G. Jung was the master there. He handed me a large ceramic vase and told me it was a “Jungian Concept.” This dream stirred my long-held interest in psychology and I dove into studying the writings of Jung and post-Jungian scholars, as well as adjacent subjects of anthropology, mythology, and mysticism. From this self-led study I created a body of writing in poetry, essay, and fiction which can be read at CATHERINEBROOKS.COM
In autumn 2023 I returned to the alchemist’s laboratory, this time for doctoral studies in Depth / Jungian Psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute. The series of prints below are visual alchemy. In making them I combined symbols from the i-ching, Hindu tantra, western astrology, and Celtic mythology. Revenue from print sales will go toward the cost of my doctoral program tuition.
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Etching: The Practice of Alchemy and the Art of Collaboration
PART 5
Following the summer holidays of 2001, my apprenticeship began at Atelier René Tazé in September. Prior to my time in Paris I had taken just one French course in college and René’s few words of English were gleaned from Johnny Cash songs. Despite the language barrier and my daily blunders, René was amused by my presence and we became friends.
Our days often began with a coffee at the corner café between the metro station and his atelier. From there we would walk to the studio and prepare our materials. We warmed up our inking stations, mine with a lit candle under the metal tabletop surface. We would tear paper, wet the sheets and place them between panes of thick glass. He would turn on loud music to accompany our choreography around the presses.
Introducing the print collection of artist, master printer and author Catherine Brooks
CATHERINE BROOKS PROJECTS aims to catalog and make available artist’s and printer’s proofs produced through collaborations between master printer Catherine Brooks and numerous eminent artists during her decade-long career as a printmaker. Read more…