What were some of your thoughts about working with Susan?

“It was really cool getting to learn the new color processes. I thought Susan was really knowledgable, and it was interesting to bring in a new perspective.“

“I really enjoyed learning about her work and seeing some of her printing techniques first-hand.”

“It was an unforgettable experience. We all got great hands-on experience with her as she was working on her newest project in our studio.”

“She really knows her stuff and is very passionate so it made learning from her very fun.”

“I loved being able to work with color and explore.”

What was your favorite part of the week?

“The work session on Thursday – I liked the chance to experiment with the different techniques we learned.”

“It was really nice to have Susan present to answer questions and show us techniques.”

“Coming in and helping Susan with her project. It’s really neat to see the techniques that she uses and also get some helpful printing advice.”

“Being able to work with Susan while she was working on her project and being able to see what she was doing and her vision… Overall a really fun and different experience.“

Susan ends her busy week here at Bowdoin with a wrap up session on Friday morning with the printmaking students that included coffee and donuts! This allowed for the students to see all of the work created and ask Susan specific questions regarding her own work. The end result was 94 total prints!

At 4:15 on Tuesday, Susan gave a talk in the Beam Classroom of the VAC about her experiences with printmaking and how she got to where she is now. She displayed many of her large drawings for the audience to see and went through a detailed account of the new printmaking studio at the University of Maine.

Afterwards there was a pizza party back in Edwards where students got the chance to talk with Susan in a casual environment.

On Tuesday morning at 9:00AM the Printmaking 1 students got the chance to work with Susan Groce and learn some exciting new printmaking techniques as well as see some of her own student’s work from the University of Maine!

Susan Groce made her way down from the University of Maine to Bowdoin College this Sunday the 23rd of March! She set up in the white-box room in Edwards and prepared to work with the printmaking class and share her knowledge of the arts with many students.

Susan was shown around campus and had dinner at Thorne with the Printmaking TA’s, Iaasac Jaegerman and Fabi Navarrete, and visiting printmaking professor Becky Blosser.

Susan Groce is coming to visit Bowdoin this coming week!

Spiral: Photo credit: Bethany Engstrom. Spiral is a mixed media piece, 7.5’ x 4’.

Invasive Species: This is a detail shot of a tiled piece showing 16 go 216 photopolymer etchings.

For the student project, Susan will be working with students on adding color to their etchings, which would start with a demo class, and continue with outside work, as well as a “crazy palette” application to their work in the next class.

For her solo project, Susan will be working on a piece involving many tiled photopolymer plates, much in the same fashion as her Invasive Species piece (which the attached sample is from). She will be making some of the plates during her stay and will be using a series of about 40 total plates to make one large piece.

For her artist talk, Susan will speak about her own art practice, her involvement with safer print (Acrylic Resist Etching; Photopolymer films) research/teaching in Maine, Scotland and Australia, and her oversight and design of the just completed construction of a full system safer print studio at the Wyeth Center, UMaine.

Susan Groce will be working with Bowdoin students the week after Spring Break!

She received her MFA from the University of Michigan. She has worked at Atelier 17, Paris; the Edinburgh Printmakers, Scotland; Open Bite Print Workshop, Australia; and the MacDowell Colony, NH. She has been an Artist Mentor for the MFA program at Vermont College, and has been an Artist in Residence, Visiting Artist, Guest Lecturer, and Visiting Researcher (safer print practices) at over 40 art schools, programs, and universities in Australia, Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, Canada, and the U.S.

Her prints and drawings have been in over 180 solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions and are included in private, public, and corporate collections in the U.S., Portugal, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and Singapore. Her research focus is on innovative and safer print materials and processes. Susan has received a variety of research grants and awards in the arts, including the University of Maine System Trustee Professorship.