Holton, Curlee Raven, (Understanding)

"Understanding" by Curlee Raven Holton 10.75 x 14.5 inches, etching on paper, artist proof, (2024) --unframed   I came to Lafayette College in 1991 from New York City, where I was studying at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking workshop - the oldest non-profit printmaking in the country, founded by Robert Blackburn, a premier African American printmaker in the country. I was doing a residency there and was recruited to come to Lafayette College.  In 1993, I began working with artists like Faith Ringgold, Richard Anuszkiewicz, Chakaia Booker, Robert Beachum, and several other prominent artists. These were artists who had established themselves in the ’50s & ’60s and were invited to Lafayette College as part of their Grossman Artists program. This program was unique for a small liberal arts college because it attracted and brought major artists into an educational institution to do residency work, make art, and teach.  It was a unique way to teach about art and look at artmaking as a scholarly activity, and I was very interested in that. So in 1996, I founded The Experimental Printmaking Institute (EPI) to explore printmaking while encouraging student-based collaborations with artists from diverse cultural and social backgrounds, providing them with skilled and ambitious role models.  In 2006, EPI had its 10th anniversary. It was during that year that I met Jase Clark. He was a student at Kutztown University and had come to EPI to do some printmaking work and celebrate our 10th anniversary. Although we had numerous opportunities at EPI to create what we call “commercial projects,” EPI was a non-for-profit and focused more on creating opportunities for artists, not creating works for the art market. But I was interested in the possibilities of it. It was that summer in 2006 when I decided to start Raven Fine Art Editions.