Ellen Von Weigand is an American artist who is currently based in London, UK.
Largely self taught in the art of linocut printing, Ellen has found a freedom in creating art using her own body as the main subject. Confronting personal challenges of insecurity, shyness and wanting to communicate non-verbally, the process of creating the artworks has allowed Ellen to transcend previous difficulties and gain comfort in her own skin.
Ellen says 'I don’t see my prints as self-portraits, but rather physical representations of emotional states of being. Male or female, my hope is that you see a piece of yourself reflected back to you in each image.'
Each print is individually hand printed from a hand cut piece of lino. As opposed to digital prints, lino prints celebrate the long tradition of handmade editioned art that has been practiced for nearly two millennia. While woodblock printmaking goes back thousands of years, linocut was popularised by artists like Picasso in the early part of the 20th century because of the wider availability and softer texture of linoleum. All parts of Ellen's process are done by hand, from the original drawing, to the carving, and final printing, which is achieved by applying pressure to the back of the print with the use of a spoon. In order to produce a work in multiple colours, separate blocks need to be carved and printed for each hue. As a result creating a limited edition of colourful prints is quite time consuming and requires a great deal of patience. And while there are multiple prints created from the same plates, each one is truly an original work of art.
View all available works by Ellen Von Weigand here