CRÉATEUR’s Unpublished Créative Grace Pastore
“I'm an advertising copywriter by day, but on evenings and weekends, I spend as much time as possible sketching, carving, and printing. I've always been addicted to learning new skills across the artistic spectrum. I started linocut and relief printmaking in early 2020 and fell in love with the medium. Very early on, I knew the challenge of small scale carving would be the creative heart of my work. The best way I can explain it is the pleasure of precision and, counterintuitively, my tendency toward clutter (sorry, Mom).”
Grace’s favorite quote that applies to her work today:
““I’d forgotten how trees full of bird sounds made you sense the world differently: that life didn’t just stop at eye level.” - Barbara Kingsolver, The Bean Trees
Grace’s mom, who has always been her creative hero, would read The Bean Trees as they camped their way through eastern Canada in the late 90’s. Growing up, belonging, and independence are all recurring themes here. Grace states that in her work, she continuously strives to illustrate the feeling of discovery and “more.” Believing that this constant pursuit of discovering the world around us is an endless vice for expression brings a sense of comfort.
Drawing from history, pop culture, and personal memories, Grace Pastore of Figment Print Shop creates relief prints that aim to be a feast for the eyes—landscapes of information and nostalgia. Each design is illustrated, carved, and printed in her tiny Fremont apartment. After transferring original illustrations to linoleum and other block materials, she spends weeks carving with micro palm tools to achieve highly detailed designs.
Most of all, Grace loves building tiny worlds for people to explore, unearthing stories rich with humor and irony as she carves. She hopes anyone who glances or lingers delights in the little discoveries.