Prairie Castle

Description

Lorna and her husband have raised three boys and operate a small grain farm near Fort St. John, B.C. Lorna has a strong agricultural heritage with fond memories of grain elevators silhouetted against harvest sunsets. These grand structures she looked up to as a child have been vital to the development of our country. They are historic landmarks adorning our prairies, just as castles adorn countries such as Ireland and England. The trouble is, our castles aren’t made of stone; they’re disappearing, and she has a passion for preserving these precious rural relics in art.
Through her involvement with a local, active and adventurous group of artists, Flying Colours Artists’ Association, Lorna has become intrigued with the art of printmaking. “Prairie Castle” was made by carving designs into 5”x7” pieces of art linoleum – one design for each colour (black, blue and orange/red). Lorna rolled ink onto one plate and pressed the paper over the plate to receive the ink. After pealing it off and letting it dry, she repeated this for the other two colours, being careful to make each colour/design line up with the previous colour print.
“What I love about printmaking is the excitement of not knowing until the end – Ta-dah! – the big reveal when you pull the paper off the final plate.”
This work of art was created as part of a travelling exhibit – “Our Home and Native Land” – to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. It is included as one of eleven artists’ images in our DōnaBōna card by that name.