Magda Baker is drawn to the way prints can show gesture and reveal the process of printmaking. A life-long artist, she grew up in Charleston, South Carolina and has lived and made art in Seattle, Washington since graduating from Bennington College with a B.A. in printmaking and political science in 1992. Magda also works as a lawyer.

Magda has shown her prints in numerous galleries, including the Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, Connecticut; the Edmonds Arts Commission in Edmonds, Washington; and AMcE Creative Arts, Studio E and Davidson Galleries in Seattle, Washington. Her work has been included in exhibitions at several universities, including University of Utah, University of Richmond, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Loyola University, William Patterson University and the Pacific Northwest College of Art. She has a print in the King County, Washington Portable Works Collection and has received a fellowship from Women’s Studio Workshop, a grant from Allied Arts and the Pratt/Seattle Print Arts Partners Grant.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT

Trash: I memorialize garbage to show it can be beautiful, to continue my work with pattern, and as social commentary. I find much paper trash delicate and lovely, especially trash on the street. The paper frays and becomes fragile, and dirt adds a patina to the bright printed images underneath. My work has always included pattern, showing simple shapes that become complex when multiplied. Commercial packaging often includes colorful patterns, making mimicking it a good way to keep exploring repeated shapes. Finally, I examine the strangeness of hand making items that echo mass printed objects as well as the cultural prevalence of waste.      

I make my fake trash using monotype and mixed media. Monotype is a printmaking technique that entails applying ink to plexiglass or another flat surface and then transferring the ink to paper using an etching press.  I use mixed media, including watercolor, stamp making, color pencil, and collage to complete each piece.       

Creatures: Some of my work combines the printmaking mediums of collagraph, monotype, linocut and aquatint with collage to depict a variety of creatures. The first creatures I created were devils wearing outfits full of pattern and color. Devils are traditionally evil, but the devils I made are cranky or mischievous at worst. As charming monsters, they are both good and bad, calling into question the binary nature of virtue and vice. Some of my creatures are animals wearing their own expressive, colorful outfits. I dressed all my creatures as though they were paper dolls, developing their sensibilities as I printed and shaped their outfits, giving them a sense of play.

Patterned Objects and Dresses: Much of my older work reexamines and celebrates the familiar. Some of my prints reference domestic and traditionally feminine work, such as cooking and sewing. They often depict the mass-produced objects related to those tasks as a way of examining the personal connections with inanimate objects that develop as each object becomes integrated into an individual home. Those prints use pattern as a way of mirroring the daily routines in which people use the objects.

Stencil Prints: Some of my prints are abstract. They focus solely on pattern and color. I inked and printed circle stencils as part of making these pieces. As with my other work, my abstract prints repeat shapes and patterns from piece to piece.

CONTACT

To contact Magda with questions or comments or to purchase a print, email magdabaker1@gmail.com. You can see more of Magda’s work on Instagram.

RESUME

Click to download Magda’s resume.