Ted Braggins
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Ted Braggins is a Rhinebeck artist and printmaker working at Pondside Press, a graphic arts workshop since 1985. In addition to his own work, he has provided a collaborative printmaking service with his wife Melissa for artists desiring to produce original graphic art. Through the years, they have worked with numerous artists, and conducted the Monotype Project at Art/OMI international residency for 25 years.
Braggins attended Rochester Institute of Technology, College of Fine and Applied Art, (BFA, MST) majoring in Printmaking with a minor in Painting, and a Masters in Art Education and a minor in Ceramics. He attended the Lake Placid School of Art studying with John Sparks, from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and Master Printer, Irwin Hollander. He later attended the Tamarind Institute’s printer training program at the University of New Mexico, studying with John Sommers, and later Garo Antreasian in the College of Fine Art. Additionally, Braggins was an art teacher, lacrosse coach, and department chair at Arlington H.S. in Lagrangeville, NY, retiring after 33 years of service.
“Making art is both a challenge and a privilege,” Braggins believes, “that can be used for the greater good - striving to be moving and thoughtful.”
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In my printmaking works, I use the landscape as a fundamental source for expression depicting long views to the horizon. The breaking of the traditional picture plane into shapes that can function as pure form while working spatially is vital to the structure. I believe that the landscape may be seen as a psychological metaphor for emotional qualities. I also work with geometric shapes in formal florals while contrasting flat planes with bright color.
Works in collage, drawings on photo emulsion, and using digital media are also areas of interest. Apart from natural organic subjects, I produce works that may expressive of social unrest, concerns about justice, or iconic symbolism. The Black Flag series, Say Their Name works, Hope and Promise, and Empty Chairs, are representative of this body.
The Empty Chair series comes from feelings of loss and despondency. This arose during the height of the pandemic when the numbers of deaths seemed to keep going up exponentially. Yet the black and white monotypes have color in certain areas that seem to offer up a sense of hope. The chair pieces represent an exploration of emotional experience, interior spaces, and objects of personal significance. The Black Flags also evoke feelings of loss or mourning. They raise questions about what our flag represents, and the iconic symbolism attached to its image.
The monotype is a form of printmaking that I enjoy utilizing. This type of original work involves painting directly onto a printing element, and pulling a print from the painted image. This medium allows me to work freely while enjoying a myriad of printmaking processes. Each print is a unique one-of-a-kind image. Monotypes are often called the painterly print.
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Instagram: @pondsidepressstudio
Facebook: @pondsidepressworkshop
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Website: pondsidepress.com
Email: pondsidepress@gmail.com
Road to Somewhere (Nowheresville), Monotype, 30" x 40"
Days Passing, Monotype, 22" x 30"
Homosapiens Monstous Horrorbilis (Heron), Monotype, 22" x 30"
New Mexico Landscape, Near Placitas, Color Lithograph, 20" x 26"
Sunflower Fields, Monotype, 18" x 24"
Gulf Coast Sunset, Monotype, 20" x 26"
Falcons Fields from Cedar Heights, Monotype, 20" x 26"
View from Charlie Hill Road, Monotype, 25" x 25"
View from Cedar Heights Orchard, Monotype, 20" x 28"
The Catskills and Hudson from Poets Walk, Monotype, 20" x 26"
Mead Farm, Tivoli, NY, Monotype, 20" x 28"
Hope Barn, Tivoli, NY, Monotype, 20" x 28"
The Kingston-Rhinecliff Bridge from Mt. Rutsen, Monotype, 20" x 28"
The Hudson from Linwood, Vanderburg Cove, Monotype, 20" x 28"
Composite II: Here and There, Monotype, 30" x 40"
Black Flag with Gold and Red Stripe II, Monotype, 7" x 5"
Say Their Names, Monotype with Typewriter, 19" x 14"
The Empty Chairs and Map, Monotype, 15" x 19"
The Empty Chair and Geranium, Monotype, 28" x 20"
The Empty Chair and Sculpture, Monotype, 28" x 20"