Moving to Mesilla in 2003 was the end of Ouida’s search for a place with very specific criteria: good light, proximity to Mexico, and an artist’s community. “I’m bilingual,” says Ouida, “and I love the Mexican culture. I also wanted to be close to the University. But the light is the most important; I’m very dependent on good lighting.” Good light is something her open studio provides her, as well as a space of her own to create. Early in her twenties, Ouida officially started her art education. She later completed her B.F.A. at Kansas City Art Institute and her M.A. at the University of Missouri at Kansas City. It was there that she honed her skills and focus as an artist.
And yet, she had to make a living doing art that would sell. “I worked in the garment industry, designing women’s apparel, for twelve years. It took some time for me to commit to Fine Art.” After making that commitment to being a full-time artist, Ouida was able to find success and inspiration in her surroundings and in her acts of creation. She claims the early Modernists, such as Georgia O’Keefe and Milton Avery, as artists who’ve influenced her.
“The local culture is a big influence,” says Ouida about living in Mesilla, “I respond to my environment.” This response is visible in her paintings and woodcut prints. Historic architecture and desert botanica drop night scenes have blossomed in some of her most recent pieces. Her work with oils and watercolor are marked by her love of painting in “plein air” or “el aire fresco,” in the open air, outdoors.
Aside from painting, Ouida also creates woodcut prints. One of the oldest printing techniques in the world, the artistry of the technique takes shape when the artist begins using multiple layers of color. Ouida first sketches out the design, and then, taking a piece of wood that’s easy to carve, either birch or a fine Japanese wood, she chisels out the design. Removing the negative space in the design leaves the image on the surface, which is inked and printed. For each color used in the print, a separate woodcut plate is made. After placing the colored ink on glass to soften the color, Ouida rolls a brayer, a small roller, on the glass to pick up the ink. She then rolls the brayer over the wood plate, transferring the ink. Laying the woodcut on a table or on the bed of her press, she presses paper onto the design, transferring the image onto the paper. For larger woodcuts in which the images are too big for the press, she hand rubs her prints, giving them a genuine artisan quality. This process is repeated for each color in the print. The paper Ouida uses is extremely fine, printmaker’s paper, which sometimes comes from Japan or Germany. She recently attended a workshop at the University of South Dakota and learned to make her own paper.
Her recent collection of woodcuts were inspired by her residency on Avenida de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. The Guadalupe woodcuts are uniquely printed on Mexican oilcloth. Ouida is also developing a series of prints featuring figurative images. Many of her woodcuts encapsulate and interpret the space around her. Her artist’s statement remains true to her attempts to capture the images that surround her, “As I paint I am preoccupied with the realm of observation and its edges. What is the distance between the observed and the invented, the real and the poetic?” Her images of Picacho Mountain and southwestern-sky clouds and shadows reflect her attempt to see the many ways of reinventing these landmarks and images one sees on a daily basis.
Even though Ouida loves to travel, she plans to remain living in Mesilla. “Traveling to a quiet place and being still for a while helps me to recharge, but I love my home and Mesilla’s ambiance.” She is a founder of La Prensa/Southwest Printmakers, a group of professional printmakers in the community. Her artwork is represented by Thomas Nashmy of The Nash Gallery in Mesilla, and her website is a wonderful portfolio that highlights the best of her work.
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