Printing from life

On Tuesday in the Festung, Leya Mira Brander discussed her development and experiences in etchings and print making. Born and based in São Paulo, Brander began working with metal engraving when she was 17. Over the last twenty years she has experimented with various forms of printing, with the creation of three dimensional images and incorporating prints into sculpture.

She showed us many examples of her work and the different methods she has employed. Her first work drew on the periodic table of elements, a motif which has repeatedly re-emerged in later works. Her interest in dealing with perspective and depth has led to various projects involving boxes with layered prints, and pop up books.

Brander also shared some of her personal experiences. Her studio is also her living place, creating a close relationship between the two. She described her teaching, which has included considerable work with blind students. Finally, she related what she called “the most beautiful story I have to tell”: the chance tale of how her former art teacher, many years later, passed on his own printing press to her. In thanks, she promised him that she would repeat the story whenever possible.