Biography
Eileen “Ikie” Nolan Kressel is a printmaker, licensed clinical social worker and registered art therapist. For over 20 years she was a member of Inkling Studio, until its closing in 2009. Ikie is currently a member of and printing at "No.2 Print Shop" in S.E. Portland. Ikie grew up in Brooklyn, New York. She received a B.A. in art from Hunter College in N.Y.C. Following graduation, Ikie attended The School of Visual Arts and the Brooklyn Museum Art School. After moving to Oregon in 1971, she received a Masters in Social Work, became a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Registered Art Therapist. In 2006 Ikie retired from her private practice to pursue art full time.
Artist's Statement
My artwork is derived from relationships and personal life experiences. It reflects my life and the lives of those around me. By no particular design, prints reflect the joys, whimsies, sadness and mysteries of people and places I have known. I don't always know what feelings a piece will express until it is complete. My primary medium is the subtractive linoleum cut, a method which allows for several colors to be pulled from a single block. The print is gradually revealed to me, since the entire piece cannot be known until the final run when the last color is rolled through the press. The outcome is anticipated with the fear of seeing a mistake or the exhilaration of success.
Another printmaking medium in which I work is etching, where the image is drawn on a copper plate, etched in acid and run through the press, The dark, fluid lines of the etched plate are juxtaposed against the bright, whimsical style of the linoleum block. Together etchings and subtractive linoleum cuts provide the broad voice for that which goes on around me.