About

The Artist: Linne Hutto

I was born in Largo, Florida and grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. One of my first jobs was doing trim carpentry and I quickly realized how much I loved working with wood. Eventually I started my own business making custom furniture and continued this for over 10 years. In 2014, after many ups and downs, I wanted a change but knew that I needed to continue working with wood. I started to create art from salvaged trees and lumber, finding my calling as a printmaker. My process is constantly evolving and I am learning something new every day. My family and I now live in Greenville, South Carolina, where I find inspiration in all of the natural beauty of the Upstate. There is nothing more rewarding than exploring in nature to find a fallen tree that can be given a new life as a work of art.

 

The Process

Every piece is hand pulled utilizing traditional silkscreen printing methods. Each one starts as a relief print that is pulled directly from the wood. To make the original relief print, my process includes surfacing and burning the wood to prepare it for printing. Fire reduces the soft rings, leaving a printable surface that reflects the life of the tree. Ink is rolled on the surface and the paper is hand pressed onto the grain. The paper is removed to reveal a unique image of the growth rings, like a thumbprint of the tree itself. I then use the original to create a silkscreen print, allowing more creativity to reshape the wood into fun and unexpected things.

Each print is signed, dated, and includes a card with information about the tree and printing process.