VIBRANT 'REALLY BIG PRINTS' PIECE PRESERVES PART OF A FAMILY'S STORY

As a scholarship recipient for the 2023 Really Big Prints event, artist Nancy Ariza printed from a design that is a form of documentation preserving family stories in an attempt to better understand and honor her ancestral roots.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum
Nancy's print is part of a larger body of work entitled “Breaking the Horse’s Jaw,” which is inspired by researching her Mexican heritage and its connections to horsemanship.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum

For a period in his life, Nancy's paternal grandfather worked as an artisan making fustes (saddle trees) and embroidering saddles with traditional geometric patterns and floral motifs. These patterns directly influenced Nancy's design for her 2023 Really Big Prints block, which combined these elements in a symmetrical composition inspired by papel picado, Mexican cut paper.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum

Nancy's work aims to present a diverse cultural perspective on horses. The equestrian field in the United States is predominantly white, and it fails to acknowledge that many cultures around the world and in the U.S. share connections to horses.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum

The opportunity to print as part of the Really Big Prints event presented an inviting challenge to Nancy, who enjoyed diving back into woodcuts after exclusively working in screenprint for the past few years.

Really Big Prints at Hamilton Wood Type & Printing Museum
Nancy will revisit this piece, experimenting with adding embroidered elements. She also plans to start another 32” x 60” block to continue this series and look for exhibition opportunities to show her in-progress body of work.

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