Printmaking is, by its nature, a fecund artistic environment. In 1960, it was a woman-June Wayne, the founder of Tamarind Institute (from which so many of these works are graciously on loan)-who went so far as to call it “an ecology.” Women, many of them unsung, have been printmaking pioneers, exploring, publishing, and defining the boundaries of the medium over the decades. They push against traditional methods of production (cutting their prints by hand; pinning them to the wall). They embrace larger contents (social media, crowdsourcing). They are true to their bodies and themselves. Their means of production may be diverse, but still, as is printmaking's true nature, ever democratic and accessible.

Gender roles are more fluid today than ever before; this exhibition provides an opportunity, no matter our gender, to think about the masculine and feminine in all of us. What does it mean to be receptive and nurturing? What does it mean to be powerful and strong? We can learn from each other. When you look “without” at the work by these artists-emergent/established; Caucasian/Latina/African-American; homo/hetero/trans-don't forget to look “within.” Amidst all this variety-there is a great deal of unity. Thanks to these women, we can see how much we all share.

RSVP for the free exhibition reception on Feb 3 from 6-8pm: http://mocajacksonville.unf.edu/events/The-Other--Nurturing-a-New-Ecology-in-Printmaking-Reception/