Community News - by Thomas Kelly
Printmaker Ani Vassileva

Ani Vassileva is a printmaker. Through etching, carving and incising on a plate, she is able to make multiple prints of images on paper. Printmakers make their plates in reverse so the print you see will be opposite of the plate or block.

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Printmaking is the discipline that first brought artwork to the masses. Ani’s work is ancient yet modern, and showcases her mastery of design and color.

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When did you begin in the arts?

I was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. As a young girl, my mother would involve me helping with the art projects she created for the school where she taught. When I came to the US my plan was to study painting. I’ve always been interested in color. I went to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where three disciplines were available as majors: painting, printmaking and sculpture. The first year offered an introduction to each of them. From those classes I realized that printmaking provided me with enough variety of mediums to really be able to express myself in my personal visual language.

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What pointed you toward printmaking and other works on paper?

Printmaking can incorporate painterly techniques as in monotypes and some woodcuts. Yet, much of it uses drawing that translates onto relief, engraving, etching and lithography very naturally. At the age of 13 I studied drawing for three years with a well-respected teacher in Sofia, Bulgaria. I learned watercolor technique with another as well. I graduated from a Textile Technical School at the age of 18.

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Where did you study art?

My art teacher encouraged me to study Architecture. I was good at math as well. She told me that Fine Arts would be a waste of time, and wasn’t something that would provide me with job security. After I moved to the US in my twenties, I began studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts with a major in printmaking. I made the long trip to Philadelphia from Hamilton, NJ every day for four years.​​

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Making books is a historical art form. Do you feel connected past books and book makers?

At the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts I learned a variety of bookmaking techniques which gave me a way to design, construct and tell an entire story, connecting multiple images in a specific order, and incorporating some text.

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Growing up in a country that played an important role in creating the Cyrillic alphabet, I was given the opportunity to observe beautifully decorated ancient manuscripts created. Their magic remains engraved in my memory, and continues to influence me, and my work. I have particularly gravitated towards books and art by masters of the woodcut from Japan, like Hokusai, Hiroshige, Hasui, Yoshitoshi.

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Which media do you most enjoy and why?

My work varies from miniature wood engravings and mezzotints to large scale woodcuts, monotypes and etchings. The magic of orchestrating color, mark making, and pressing the image on the paper gives me the feeling of freedom to visually express ideas created in my mind. Woodcut is a technique which uses a matrix that produces a print on paper. Once the drawing on the woodblock is cut out, and the wood removed from any space that will not hold ink, I roll the plate with ink and lay the paper on top of it. Then using a burin and heavy pressure I rub the back of the paper to transfer the image to it. I truly love the process, where I am in constant communication with the wooden plate. The scent and the texture of the wood brings me warmth and peace, and carries me to a quiet moment, and connects me to the universe.

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Who are some of your inspirations or influences? Modern or historical.

I had a great involvement and learning from my instructors at the Academy. Dan Miller, a maker of excellent woodcuts that taught me the value of careful planning and walked me through every step of the process with masterful precision. Tony Rosati, my intaglio teacher, and a thoroughly imaginative artist with a great sense of humor that introduced me to every etching and monotype technique available.

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As a kid I was deeply inspired by visual artists like Van Gogh, and the magic of movement and color he created by his brushstrokes. I also liked printmakers Albrecht Direr, Rembrandt, Picasso, Kathe Kollwitz, Chuck Close, Christo Javachev and Jeanne Claude, Japanese Masters.

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What fight/struggle do you have regarding your art?

There were many ups and downs before my home studio space came to life. It was my sacred space where during the pandemic, I completely lost myself in doing my art. Many times I work on large scale images. I knew I needed to rent an additional, more adequate space when my art not only took every corner of my studio but most of my house too.

You moved your studio to Lambertville. Does working there have a different vibe?

Lambertville is a small town that provides a scenic view of the Delaware River. It has the essence of a small socially vibrant community that welcomes art of any form. In my new studio I am surrounded by good neighbors, and I have enough space to work on multiple projects at the same time.

What is on the horizon? What are you looking forward to?

I am looking forward to another solo show this year. It will take place at La Galerie Adrienne, in Trenton, New Jersey in December. I will also be in some members group shows with the American Colour Print Society in the Philadelphia area. I currently have a woodcut print on display at the Trenton City Museum. It’s a part of the Ellarslie Open 41 juried exhibit.