Betty Friedman has been papermaking and printmaking to produce large scale abstract monoprints for over 30 years. She is an expert at taking raw materials in the form of paper fiber (cotton, flax, abaca, and Kozo), powdered pigments, natural dyes, Jin Shofu (Japanese wheat paste), and etching ink and transforming them into colorful and vibrant works of art.

In this current exhibition, Betty uses a variety of paper and etching plates to create her monoprints.  Some older prints are used as well for chine colle (collage) passages. She tears up unsuccessful prints and reuses the parts that are interesting for new compositional ideas, considering the abstract images on the etching plates her vocabulary. As her composition emerges, Betty makes design decisions about how to combine the raw materials into a finished print. She has only one chance to get it right.

Depending on the size and complexity of these monoprints, it could require months of work to complete one piece. The process: produce etching plates, dye and macerate paper fibers (making sheets), then chine colle these sheets on top of each other while printing inked plates. This final step involves simultaneously placing different layers of paper through the etching press in one pull to unite them. 

The prints in this exhibition were created when she was on sabbatical from teaching at Notre Dame de Namur University and are all one-of-a-kind.

Betty Friedman received her BFA and MFA at the College of Arts and Crafts,, Oakland, in printmaking. Her work has been in over 20 exhibitions both nationally and internationally. She is collected privately and by corporate clients, including The Oakland Museum of California, Adobe Systems, Apple Computers, and Dole Food Company. Betty has been a professor and the Art Department Chair for Notre Dame de Namur University for over 20 years. She maintains her studio in Oakland.