Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Aurora Goodland. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Aurora thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
If someone had told me when I was a young art student that my medium of choice someday would be carving woodblocks… I would probably say they were crazy! It certainly took time for me to learn to love the craft, but it all began with taking a general printmaking course during my second year at Simmons University.
In that course, we learned about a wide variety of printmaking techniques, with one project being a woodblock carving. However, it wasn’t until my senior year, in the Spring of 2020, that I revisited the technique and enrolled in a relief printmaking course at MassArt.
When Covid took away our ability to meet in-person and utilize the printmaking studio and equipment, I chose to take the initiative to create relief prints at home. Sprawled out on my bedroom floor, I carved and printed multiple blocks, learning how to print by hand through trial and error. Three years later, I am still learning through experimentation and practice.
Aurora, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I am a woodblock printmaker with a deep passion for nature, wildlife conservation, ecology and animal behavior. I was drawn to this craft as a way to express my love and admiration for the natural world, and to raise awareness about the importance of preserving our local environment.
As a child, I would draw and paint in my grandparent’s garden, which is where my love for art began. I enjoyed creating stories about animals and how they interacted with each other, and this concept continues to inspire my artwork today. Before I dive into a new carving, I spend time researching the animals and plants I plan to depict to gain a better understanding of how they fit into their environment. Whether it’s their diet, behavior, and/or habitat, I always try to represent a species in some kind of ecological context.
Through my work, I aim to not only create beautiful and unique pieces of art, but to also promote a deeper understanding and appreciation for the natural world that we are a part of. Oftentimes, humans separate themselves from nature, a habit deeply rooted in colonialism. This separation perpetuates the perspective of nature as something to be conquered and dominated, rather than something to be respected and lived in harmony with. This colonial mindset has resulted in the destruction of natural habitats and caused extensive harm towards marginalized communities, who bear the brunt of environmental degradation and climate change.
By representing local plant and animal species, I hope to remind people that nature is not confined to epic natural wonders or far-off lands. Rather, nature exists all around us, and the more we can do to care for our local environment, the better chances we have at protecting and preserving it for future generations. Together, we can challenge the colonial mentality of human dominance over nature, and create a more just and equitable world where all living beings can thrive.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
In my view, our capitalist society makes it difficult for people to fully support both art and environmental protection. People may view art careers as irresponsible or unrealistic because they are not seen as financially lucrative. Similarly, the environment is often viewed as a resource to be exploited for economic gain, rather than something to be protected for its inherent value. Truly, the value that artists and nature bring to the world extends beyond their financial potential, and in order to recognize them as such, we need to challenge the capitalist mindset that values everything based on its economic worth.
In order to challenge this mindset, we need to invest in public funding for the arts and create more opportunities for people to experience and appreciate art and nature. Further, we need to support and promote community-based art projects and non-profit organizations that prioritize the cultural and social value of art over its potential for profit. Finally, promoting education and awareness around the importance of art and the environment can help challenge the notion that these are not valuable or necessary aspects of society.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
During my final semester of undergrad in 2020, I enrolled in a relief printmaking class at Massachusetts College of Art & Design, eager to learn more about the craft. I had only ever carved one woodblock before, in a printmaking course earlier in my college career.
A month or so into the course, I was starting to really fall in love with the medium. In that time, I had carved my Koala and a two-block image I titled Monarch Migration. I had started a bigger carving as well, which was supposed to be a five-color reduction print of native shorebirds. I had printed my first later, and was so excited to continue after we returned from spring break. Of course, COVID had other plans.
When COVID hit, it forced me to pivot in my art-making process. I had been used to working in a studio setting, surrounded by other artists and with access to a wide range of materials and equipment. Rather than giving up on my newfound passion, I decided to learn how to produce hand-printed relief prints from my linoleum and woodblock carvings at home. I ordered some basic printmaking tools (a baren, a brayer, ink, paper, chisels and blocks), sprawled out on my bedroom floor, and got to work. It was challenging, but also incredibly rewarding to see my prints come to life through my own determination and resourcefulness. And now, I continue to work on my craft from home. However, I hope to someday have a more established studio that I can use to build a community of printmakers and people who are interested in learning the craft.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @auroraart.bynature
- Facebook: Aurora Art by Nature
- Email: [email protected]