Maria Bowers

Maria Bowers printmaker

Maria Bowers statement

I studied graphic design at BCHE in Bath, graduating in 1991 with an honours degree and went onto work as a self-employed graphic designer. I continued printmaking through evening classes and in 2011 completed a MA in Multidisciplinary Printmaking at UWE, Bristol. Since then I have completed a Diploma in Western Art History and am now developing my painting skills alongside making prints in my home studio.

I currently make plates on copper or aluminium, using etching or drypoint techniques, printed on Somerset paper. I enjoy the process of intaglio printmaking because of the way the paper presses in the ink, so whilst I can control the original image, the final print has an energy its own.

Chairs can have as much personality as the person to whom it belongs, as such I see chairs in human context. Hence in responding to the idea of Human Flotsum: “Anything or anyone that is not wanted or not considered to be important or useful. The homeless sleep in doorways and stations, we step over their bodies like human flotsam.” I have considered homeless chairs abandoned on the streets of Bristol and in junk shops, some of which are transitioned to a new lease of life, re-upholstered and re-homed, such as through Bristol charity RE:Work, who help struggling young people, by teaching them furniture restoration.

Maria Bowers printmaker Maria Bowers printmaker Maria Bowers printmaker chair