Artist Highlight: Talin Wadsworth
Talin has been a print artist for 15 years now; he discovered his art while he was studying to be an architect. During a design class, he was tasked with making a CD cover, “and from then on all I wanted to do was make rock and roll posters . . . I just wanted to make cool stuff for bands in the community.” Afterwards, Talin became immersed in printing, silk screening, letterpress, “and I just got really into the craft and process of printing.” A few years ago, Talin found his new mode of printing when a friend turned him on to the risograph, “it’s this really kind of old school like printer that prints one color at a time . . .I just knew it was a thing that I had to have.” Talin found the technology to be so revolutionary to his design process that he convinced his boss to purchase a risograph.
Talin enjoys the process of his work, “I just like following the process all the way through and having my hands on every part of that process.” Talin reflected on his varied past of dabbling in one form of printing or another, “and just like making a lot of zines on photocopies in the middle of the night and the risograph just seemed like the culmination of all these kinds of loves.” While much of Talin’s work has been for himself, one of his goals in bringing the risograph into his design studio “is to get other people involved.” He discussed the effect this form of printing has had on a younger generation of designers, “a lot of them had never seen their piece go from a sketch into a full design on the computer or even by hand and then seeing it printed and seeing it handed out and seeing it up and around. We’re just so used to seeing our work on screens.” The addition of this tangible form of printing has helped build community among designers in Talin’s office, they spend time creating together in ways they hadn’t previously, “it has opened up a new way of thinking and working for them.” Talin commented on how digital technology has allowed for more exposure for designers and created more opportunities, “people still love books, people still love putting their hands on a print and love hanging it on their wall or having it on their desk and I think what we’re realizing is that’s never going to go away.” Talin moved to the Eden area in search of a home and a community. Talin hopes that there will be more street level engagement with art in the community within the Eden area. He commented on the dwindling store front spaces that can help people, “just kind of swerve into this new world and . . . jolt them from their day to day and just kind of happen on new experiences.”
https://www.behance.net/talinwadsworth
