Sandra Swan

 

View more of Sandra Swan’s artwork in our Reproductions section.

Sandra Swan’s large woodcuts can take years to develop. Each stage of the work is carefully planned. Before she begins drawing, Sandra selects the wood blocks that will determine the size of the final print. While drawing, she works as close to her subjects as possible, giving the piece the exaggerated perspective that characterizes her work.  Most of her studies are made on a large scale and are all drawn directly from life.

The artist’s printing techniques are similar to the traditional Japanese method using rice paper and a wooden spoon for rubbing, but she has to modify the age-old process to handle the extra large sizes of her blocks.  The three dimensional aspect of her work is a departure from this tradition.  Since all the steps in the making of a woodcut are so time consuming and require such intense effort, Sandra selects her subjects with great care.

Sandra Swan was born in Bronxville, NY in 1934 and grew up in Greenwich, CT.  She studied drawing with Howard Trafton of the Art Students League in New York and etching with Carlus Dyer at the Silvermine School of Art in New Canaan, CT.  She moved to Block Island in 1960 where she lived for ten years.  Sandra currently divides her time between Block Island and Charlestown, MA.

Her work is in the permanent collections of the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, MA;  the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA;  Phillip Morris, New York; and Fidelity Management Trust Co. , Boston, Ma. and numerous private collections.