Kath Kornelsen Rutherford – Biography
Kath Kornelsen-Rutherford was first introduced to intaglio printmaking while studying with David Silverberg at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick where she met her husband, fellow printmaker Robert Rutherford. In 1978 they moved to Musquodoboit Harbour, on the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia and began to build two print studios. In 1982, with the first of two Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Awards, she continued her intaglio studies with Ed Porter, at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, N.S. Here she began to shift from the chemical process of etching on copper, preferring instead the direct engraving techniques of mezzotint and dry point.
Kath Kornelsen-Rutherford’s work has been selected for the covers of several books, and her work can be found in numerous private, public and corporate collections including the Canada Council Art Bank, the Nova Scotia Art Bank, Hudson’s Bay Company, Husky Oil, Calgary, Alberta and Parks Canada, Newfoundland. Over the past thirty years, she has exhibited her engravings in many solo and group shows, including national and international juried events. In addition to engraving, she also creates public and private mosaic tile installations.
A bit about Mezzotint
When I was introduced to mezzotint in 1982, I bonded with the technique immediately…I loved everything about it, including the huge time commitment.
The rich soft dark tones characteristic of the mezzotint, are achieved by repeatedly ‘rocking’ a curved serrated blade on polished copper plate. Few artists today have the time to rock a plate for the days it takes to cover the plate completely in one direction, and then again at right angles to the first and so on until at least twelve different directions have been rocked. The rocked plate will print a solid black, which is then scraped with a knife to create a range of tones. The finished plate is then inked, wiped and rolled through a press with dampened paper, then, in most cases dilute acrylic paint is added to the finished print.
Drawing directly on the plate with only sketches to guide me, I hope to share a quiet wit & playfulness. Most of my works are small…most subjects could be held in a hand. My images are carefully constructed and precisely detailed compositions inspired by interpretations of proverbs, folklore and sayings.