Artist’s Statement
Izzy Van den Heuvel, Seed, artist’s book of linoleum-cut prints in accordion binding, 3 1/4 x 5 x 1/2 in., 2021.
Seed grew from a challenge I presented myself: could I take one block and tell a story as I carved the block from total black to total white, and in this way, bring the block back to its starting point of even blackness? As I began carving, I did not have a story in mind. Eventually, I saw the images as a story of relationships, how we plant them and how we tend to them. With their growth, we evolve. The growth changes who we are and what we then carry with us into new relationships. The structure of the book is such that the front and back covers are held at the spine by a magnet, but can detach so that the accordion can be displayed stretched out one line, or reattached at the fore-ends of the front and back cover, so that the book, and in turn the story, form a circle.
Izzy Van den Heuvel, Skin Prints, chine-collé, series of prints 5 1/2 x 7 1/8 in, 2019.
Skin Prints is similarly focused on convergence and divergence. “Protective coverings” is a phrase that much of my work circles around; what they are, how we build them, and when and how we shed them. Skin Prints is the product of considering the dual meaning of “getting under one’s skin.” Skin is the boundary between ourselves and the world, and in a sense, it is our last line of defense before we are defending on our “home turf.” A person or thing under your skin is a potential threat, whether a mild irritant or a life-threatening intruder. However, sometimes we choose to shed our skin and welcome another under this protective layer into the most intimate parts of ourselves.
Izzy Van den Heuvel, Small Acts: Part 2, watercolor collograph, edition of 2, 22 x 22 in., 2019.
Small Acts II depicts interlocking flora and fauna, united as an image from afar, as well as revealing smaller stories upon closer inspection. My goal was to imitate the experience of searching through the grass as a child, discovering these dramas as they unfold. I built the plate from which the print is pulled from layers of paper, string, and scraps of fabric. Creating the plate involved meticulous placement and layering of varying weights of string. It felt as though I was building a net or a web.