Emily McKnight

Since the small town schools I attended in the South as a
child were on too tight a budget to afford such "frills" as
art in their budgets, my exposure to art and art materials
as a child was minimal - coloring books at home, ditto
sheets at school etc.

My first chance to experience using art material came
as I was preparing to become an elementary teacher. To
teach us how to instruct our future students, the
instructors told us that we were to take the role of
children and they would teach us as we should teach
those we would teach in the classroom. It was great fun
and my favorite part of classroom teaching.

I taught three years before taking time off to be with my
own children. I did take night courses in various arts and
crafts to satisfy my need to "make things."

As the younger one neared school age, I decided to take
some more courses with idea of becoming an Art
Education teacher. We were living in Texas at the time.

I took a figure drawing course which was being taught
by a printmaker. I quickly became fascinated with
printmaking. However, I did not have the prerequisites
to take that course.

We returned to St. Louis, where I was no longer
certified to teach, but I found a linoleum print making
course listed at the University City night school. I signed
up for it right away.

Herb Gralnic taught us the basics of cutting, inking, and
printing by hand. It was a very practical course for us,
as none of his students had access to the printing press
that most other types of printing require.

Soon I was happily cutting, printing and editioning
linoleum prints on my kitchen table. The walls of our
small apartment were covered with drying prints. When
it was time for the children to come home from school;
blocks, ink, brayers and cutters were put on a layer of
newspapers, covered with another layer and shoved
under the bed.

Eventually another baby and a house where I could
have an attic corner for my studio entered our lives.
That continued nicely until that baby, as a two year old,
inked the attic with her little handprints.

After having to use turpentine to clean baby's hands, I
decided it was time to try a more washable medium.

I began taking classes in watercolor, which I continue
to this day. I have recently begun working on new prints.