Artist and printmaker Lee Ann Frame grew up on the shores of Lake Michigan. She says that proximity has influenced her art all through her life. Frame says the Great Lakes inspire, intimidate, and move her to carry Nature to the viewer through her art. She also teaches printmaking, ceramics, art history, drawing, and art appreciation at Muskegon Community College. Frame has also taught at the Kendall College of Art and Design. Her home studio in Fruitport, Michigan, is called Norris Creek Printmaking.
“For me, they all seem to have a common thread in the creative process and problem-solving and the idea of just creating things,” Frame says about her many interests. “I was introduced to printmaking as an undergrad, and I followed it through to today. I have a studio here at home. I can do etchings, so I have a large etching press. Creating woodblock prints is another form. And I have bound images and etchings into book form.”
Frame says she really enjoys teaching. “It’s a joy to teach young people and older people a new process to them,” she says. “Just to see them flourish in their self-confidence in creating works of art.”
Nearly all of Frame’s work reflects her love of nature and the Great Lakes.
“Landscape is a recurring theme in my prints,” Frame says. “There are days when the lure of Nature beckons me out of the studio. I prefer drawing on-site and other times from photographs. Through renderings, the image gradually evolves, capturing a fleeting moment. Back in the studio, compositional drawings are worked out, keeping in mind that the image will print in reverse, a mirror image. Printmaking has proven to be a very satisfying way for me to explore the complexities of the natural world. I am inspired by the physicality of printmaking, creating rich layers and surface textures through the process. My intention is to focus and immerse myself in my surroundings while implementing my printmaking skills. It is my hope that my work will evolve–like life; finding place and sense of direction.”
An exhibition of Frame’s work, along with that of Erin Hoffman, will be at Ninth Wave Studio, 213 West Walnut Street in Kalamazoo March 1 through April 19, 2024. The opening reception will be held during the March Kalamazoo Art Hop on Friday, March 1, 2024, from 5 to 8 p.m.
Listen to WMUK's Art Beat every Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.
