Storm Plate — Jenny Mason-GunningStorm Plate is an abstract exploration of atmosphere created through the physical force of carborundum grit and the pressure of the press. The image is deceptively simple — a sky reduced to tone, texture, and weight — yet the result carries a dramatic intensity that feels elemental.Carborundum allows for dense, velvety blacks and granular surface variation. Under heavy pressure, the grit bites deeply into the paper, transferring not only ink but a sense of physical compression. The print holds that force. It feels weathered, charged, almost geological — as though the sky itself has been pressed into the sheet.There is no literal horizon, no descriptive landscape. Instead, the work relies on contrast and surface to suggest movement and tension. The darker passages gather like storm fronts, while subtle lifts in tone allow space to breathe within the composition.What makes this piece compelling is its restraint. It is pared back, direct, and unembellished. The drama comes not from detail, but from material — grit, ink, paper, and pressure working together. The result is both raw and controlled: a study in atmosphere built from the simplest of means.Storm Plate reflects an ongoing interest in how printmaking can capture not just image, but force — how pressure, texture, and tone can evoke something vast and intangible.
