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About Me + Riso

About Natalie

Natalie is an illustrator, cartoonist and printmaker specializing in vibrant, narrative Risograph prints. Her work is inspired by fantasy, adventure and folklore stories she grew up dreaming about in the creeks and woods of North Carolina. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California, and prints and ships out of her studio in Atwater Village.

 

Natalie has been making Risograph prints and books since 2015 and her work can be found in person at bookstores and little shops around the world. Some stocksts include:
Rotopol Press in Kassel, Germany
Popotame in Tokyo, Japan
From Here To Sunday in Brooklyn, NY
Gallery Nucleus in Alhambra/Los Angeles, CA
Silver Sprocket in San Francisco, CA
Perdita Shop in San Francisco, CA
Wonder Fair in Lawrence, KS
Giant Robot in Sawtelle/Los Angeles, CA

 

Natalie also makes much more than Risograph work, you can find more of her editorial, graphic novel and visual development work on her website here.

She also has a Riso workshop recording of her process available through Gallery Nucleus here. It comes with a print as well!

 

About Risograph

Risograph printing is a form of printmaking made from a digital duplicator machine. Like screen printing, Natalie prints every color pass individually, however the process happens with the help of a digital duplicator called a Risograph. 

 

Risograph uses soy-based inks and makes rice paper screens as the artwork stencil, making it much more environmentally friendly than many printing services. The stencil is just like a screen printing screen except inside of the machine. Natalie currently carries two fluorescent ink colors, fluorescent orange and fluorescent pink. These colors are hard to capture with a camera and are one of the reasons why Risograph printing is so special and beautiful. 

 

Another unique aspect of Risograph printing is the printed texture of the ink, made by the rice paper screens in combination with the 'grain' texture of the machine itself. The combination of rich, overlapping inks and playful textures makes these prints look like vintage books or advertisements. They have a nostalgic and tactile feel. However, don't touch the ink on the prints directly, the ink never fully dries. To the touch they are dry, but the oils on fingers can pick up the ink and create smudging. Always be very careful when handling the prints and make sure to only touch un-inked areas. 

 

Each color must be printed one at a time, feeding the paper back through for new colors, therefore each print is unique. Please allow for slight variations of each print and slight paper roller marks on the prints. However, each print has been double checked for consistency and quality before being sent out in orders. Roller marks and slight mis-registration are part of Riso's special quirks!