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'MAYFLOWER 400' PROJECT

INKY HANDS PRINT STUDIO

PLYMOUTH, MA

The Journey was created to reflect the terrifying yet exciting adventure across the Atlantic that Pilgrims took in 1620.  The crashing waves symbolize the pinnacle moment when the passengers set eyes on the land they would now call home.  What started as a drawing has transitioned into a multi-layer print utilizing woodcut and silkscreen processes.  The visible history of woodgrain and layering contained in the piece are inherent to the printmaking medium, which adds to the overall atmosphere of the image.  The history and struggle found in the print aim to capture the emotional growth of those passengers on board.

This commemorative piece was created to illustrate the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s voyage across the Atlantic to found Plymouth Colony.

The focus is on the iconic emblem, the “Mayflower”, located on the ships stern.  The flower with its crisp, pure white, simple petals was considered to be a symbol of spring and the month of May in England.  I see it as a personification of the Pilgrims.  Puritans, on a journey of hope and commitment to their pursuit of religious freedom.

Taking a mixed media approach to storytelling, I weave torn, collaged bits from the Mayflower Compact, maps of Plymouth Bay, and vintage wallpaper.  These elements create the vessel where the graphic image of the Mayflower is placed upon.  Using acrylic inks, paints and charcoal the ships stern is depicted to take on an antiqued, old world feel and emote the struggle and perseverance of the Pilgrim.  We are grateful for our forefathers.

‘Arrival’ depicts the passage of the Mayflower from Provincetown to Plymouth in December 1620. 

I have connections with both ends of this journey, having spent my childhood summers in my grandmother’s cottage in Provincetown and moving to  Plymouth, my grandmother’s birthplace and childhood home, 16 years ago. 

In creating ‘Arrival,’ I was looking back on events that are described in our history books as they never happened, but we know that ship was filled with people who suffered and prevailed, created community and acted well out of love and badly out of fear and hate. In the foreground, an aboriginal Mermaid looks on with an expression that might be described as consternation. It is a foreboding of the hard times to come.  The mermaid wears a deerskin because the chill of winter has already set in, and the cattails are dried remains of the warmer past, and a hard winter lies ahead of her, like every year and like no year before. I was also imagining the silkscreens that would be pressing out the image as I drew the thick black outlines and blocks of color, thinking of the colors of the water and the land and the sun and how they would align, and looking forward to working with Kat to make it come together as envisioned.

“Rhodies” are humble bushes native to North America and widespread in the world.  They are found in almost every yard or garden in the New England region, and grow nearly as tall as trees in our wood.  The flowers vary in color and shape, but this one is typical for garden variety “rhodie”.  In fact, it grew in my Manomet garden and became a subject for one of my daily paintings last Spring.  When the local flowers bloom, they are the most beloved subjects for my small acrylic works.  The rhododendron flower seemed perfect for this project; being simply beautiful, indigenous to our area, yet also shared throughout much of our planet.

New to the screen print art world, the first pieces I made were the words "LOVE", "FAMILY" and "PLYMOUTH" spelled using nautical flags. I liked the colors and the simplicity and the clean lines and angles. When the opportunity emerged to make something for the Plymouth 400, the obvious choice was to make a nautical flag print relating to the 400th celebration. Creating "1620" fit both the size and the theme and allowed me to add to my nautical flag series. It was fun and challenging to make and I feel very honored to be able to participate in this project.

I have lived near the water most of my life and feel a calling to it.  I thought for this project I wanted to do something connected to sea and the Wampanoags who lived there before the Pilgrims landed in Plymouth.

 

The Quahog was vital to the Wampanoags.  It gave them food but it also gave them tools.  The Wampanoags used Quahog shells to scrape leather, squash gourds, hold water and manipulate animal horns and bones into tools.  Wampum, which is the Native American term for the purple or white cylindrical beads made from the shell of the Quahog.  The purple and white striations and patterns on the inside of the shell are created by minerals in the mud where the Quahogs are dug.  The purple beads were only found in the New England area.  Wampanoag Quahog beads were famous through Native American countries and were used as items of trade and for ceremonial gifts to other tribal leaders.  The Wampanoags used these beads to decorate their clothing and headdresses.

“Rhodies” are humble bushes native to North America and widespread in the world.  They are found in almost every yard or garden in the New England region, and grow nearly as tall as trees in our wood.  The flowers vary in color and shape, but this one is typical for garden variety “rhodie”.  In fact, it grew in my Manomet garden and became a subject for one of my daily paintings last Spring.  When the local flowers bloom, they are the most beloved subjects for my small acrylic works.  The rhododendron flower seemed perfect for this project; being simply beautiful, indigenous to our area, yet also shared throughout much of our planet.

The National Monument to the Forefathers was formerly known as the Pilgrim Monument.  It commemorates the Mayflower Pilgrims.

It honors ideals and inspires morality, mercy, justice and faith.  The massive female part of the statue is named ‘Faith’, she is 36 of 81 ft tall statue.  On Faith’s forehead is a star that represents honor.  Faith’s foot rests upon the Plymouth Rock, the Pilgrim’s landing spot in the New World.

This is the world’s largest solid granite statue, built in 1889.

The beauty and representation of this statue inspired me as an artist to paint her.

Julie Ricker Pritchard comes to print making from a long graphic design career, bringing a wealth of creative experience to this new endeavor. Scallop represents her first foray into the fine art process of silk screen printing. 

Consider the scallop: A deep-rooted symbol of welcome for weary pilgrims traveling ancient Roman highways and through time to the Mayflower Pilgrims. Imagine their relief to discover the scallop again here in this new land and their surprise to learn that it provided food for the belly in addition to the soul. Welcome home.

This piece speaks to the complexity of life, and the challenges of Massasoit to protect his people.  The use of water here is symbolic, as water is tied to countless stories about birth, life and here it speaks to the legacy of Massasoit. 


Massasoit’s journey and history, now more than ever,  speak to our current circumstances of COVID 19. His people, as with ours, were on the search for survival.  His, by a series of epidemics, weakened and vulnerable.  This work celebrates our connection to those before us, his story of building alliances, and his leadership.  To tell our history, we can not leave out his.  


Reflecting on Massasoit,  I imagine him at the water’s edge, reflecting on his thoughts, his worries and now more then ever it speaks to ours, as we celebrate our history, our community, our world during this 400 year anniversary.

Aside from the people, the journey and the colony, was the ship Mayflower.

Growing up in and around Plymouth, MA.  I frequently saw and boarded the fabled ship’s reproduction, Mayflower 2.  Since childhood I have been amazed at the wooden sailing ships of that time.  Even a workhorse like the Mayflower exhibited a majestic beauty in its appearance and workings.

I await its return to Plymouth colony from an over 30 month restoration at Mystic Seaport, Connecticut.

For Plymouth 400 I pay homage with a metal etching to this sailing vessel of a Jacobean age.

'Twas a cold dark morning, with a heavy snow swirling in the winds, making travel dangerous, but exciting. Like the Pilgrims, but in a much more climate controlled conveyance, I made my way to Plymouth not knowing what I might find when I arrived.

I began making my way around town, but found myself drawn to the waterfront near the Mayflower II.  I was struck by the stark nature of the snow abrading her hull and the jagged sea ice trying to pierce her sides. I was immediately reminded of that first harsh and deadly winter the Pilgrims and crew spent within her, Snowbound.

This piece is a reverse poem meant to capture the juxtaposing positions of the Native Americans and Pilgrims on the cusp of their winter interaction in 1620 when the Mayflower sailed into  Cape Cod Bay.  I wanted to highlight the power of faith and hope, as well as mystery and uncertainty that I only imagine all participants in this fated interaction must have been feeling.  At the same time, I wanted to convey how the feelings surrounding that interaction were similar despite such a difference in culture and historical experience.

It is an honor to take part in such an exciting project as the Mayflower 400.  


 

My piece, entitled 102 and Crew, describes the vision I have of the perilous journey the Mayflower’s passengers took on faith that they could start anew.  

In doing so, I gave life and a voice to the vessel which delivered them to their new home.  


 

If the Mayflower hadn’t resisted the battering of the cold seas, all onboard would have perished.  My poem, therefore, pays homage to the Mayflower and to the strength of the men who hand-crafted it, as well as to her precious crew.

Since the beginning, we have looked to the sky in wonder, for guidance and direction and have used the stars to navigate our way.  Look to the Stars asks us to imagine what the night sky would have looked like 400 years ago and what the darkness and spectacle would have been like for the Pilgrims in the new world.  It would have been a sky without light pollution, providing an unbelievable view into the heavens.  The stars guided them to their new beginning, a life of uncertainty, but one of faith and hope in God, they prayed to the sky and stars and looked for guidance and an understanding from above, while they made a new home in the new world.  

Most people know Jim for his creative photography work. But with a background in graphic design and illustration, he constantly combines his skills to create innovative images in several mediums

 

When asked to be a part of the Mayflower 400 project, he wanted to create an image that was not only impactful, but embrace the medium of screen printing. The Journey of Hope image combines Jim’s photography and Photoshop skills to create an old fashion engraved style look to honor the historical significance of the Mayflower’s journey

London-based artist Marshall spent his twenties in Boston, after giving up his career as a journalist to sail across the Atlantic in a 40ft sailboat - with the intention of starting a new life on the east coast.

 

“After following in the tailwinds of those 102 passengers myself back in the 1990s, Massachusetts history, its people and culture, has remained a source of inspiration my whole life. 

 

“I wanted to celebrate our very human capacity to take such huge leaps of faith in the name of freedom, and with the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower landing approaching I felt it was the perfect time to join forces with Inky Hands and immortalize that iconic journey - while remembering my own.” 

​

Plimoth Plantation is a unique installation.  Part historical re-enactment, part theater, it's an institution with which most school children and adults in Massachusetts are familiar.  In this tableaux, a young colonist holds a basket in the doorway of a neighbor.  Whether our heroine is presenting the basket in offering or in supplication, we can't know.  We know that conditions were harsh, even desperate, those first few years after the Mayflower landing.  The embellishments of the frame are drawn from 17th century furniture motifs, and their refinement is intended to create a contrast with the rusticity of the Pilgrims' reality.

I have been a photography studio in Plymouth, MA for over 40 years. I try top walk around Plymouth almost everyday with my camera. Most days I don't find something to photograph. But I always keep looking. Plymouth is a beautiful town. Not only historic, but aesthetically. Wonderful little nooks and crannies. Town Square is easy to walk past. But if you stop and look around, Amazing. Just look up.

RED HOT PRESS

COWPRINT MEMBERS

SOUTHAMPTON, UK

My reduction woodcut depicts, with the phases of the moon, the journey time of the Mayflower. Leaving England on September 6th 1620 under a waxing gibbous moon and arriving more than 2 full moons later.

Family groups, single men, couples and fathers and sons are suggested on the Mayflower crowded into the gun deck.

On the left of the print, towards the west, the sea becomes the celebrated shell beaded design of the Wampanaog tribe, who helped the separatists survive. Indeed it is hoped the commemorations of the Mayflower on both sides of the Atlantic will reveal the whereabouts of Wampanoag chief Metacom's belt taken to England in1677.

'On a Wing and a Prayer', was inspired by the story of the Mayflower and Speedwells' departure from our shores. The difficulties the Separatists from England, now recognised as Pilgrim Fathers in America, overcame in their fervent desire for self-determination. Fleeing England for Holland, and then being offered the dream of a New World where they could establish their community and practice their faith.

 

This print is a Linocut, the design is both deliberately simple and emotive with the harsh seas, the challenging weather and the guiding wings.

Aylsa Williams is a Southampton based visual artist working with paint and printmaking. Currently studying a Foundation in printmaking she specialises in relief printmaking methods using lino, mono printing and screen printing. She enjoys experimenting by combining painting with print making. Based on Hokusai’s “Great Wave” – which is synonymous with both the power and beauty of the ocean and the strength of the people who brave it – the print depicts the perilous flight of migrants in their bid to reach a new world. Whether migration is for religious, war or economic reasons, migrants throughout time have risked everything to seek refuge overseas. Brave souls indeed.

The print depicts a storeroom on the Mayflower, with the narrative that not only people made the early voyages, but also many creatures that were alien to North America.  There were undoubtedly cats and black rats aboard.  The rat and cat also allude to tensions between the English church and state and the radical puritans.

The use of dry point, in burnt umber attempts to capture the cramped scene below decks in a sailing ship in a manner that celebrates wooden boats, and echoes the look of a 17th century illustration. 

Desperate, foolhardy, optimistic? 102 brave people set sail in 1620 on a voyage of hope for a new life in America.

The inspiration for my Mayflower 400 project linocuts was the people who undertook this epic journey.

They contain family names of those amazing voyagers printed in a blue to green blend, superimposed with the Mayflower and God’s House Tower, probably one of the last buildings they saw in Southampton.

Being involved on this project has given me a snapshot into the remarkable maritime history of Southampton.

With thoughts of migration and the need to start a new life in a new land my print has used some of the language of leaving. Recognising that people leave their homes for a better, sometimes safer, life and travel with hope and a desire for something new, whether running from danger or just because their new life and a new land will, hopefully, give them the welcome and protection they deserve. 

I have chosen to do a black and white lino print because I like the white line that creates text and image.

As a mother I was touched by the plight of the three pregnant women travelling on the Mayflower. The Speedwell’s conclusion as being unseaworthy and the subsequent delays meant facing overcrowding and fearful winter storms. With each set back their hopes of giving birth on dry land diminished. They suffered seasickness, scurvy and gave birth in damp, cold, unhygienic conditions. Elizabeth Hopkins had a son, Oceanus - Place of Birth - The Atlantic Ocean. Susanna White also had a son, Peregrine (meaning Pilgrim) – Place of Birth - offshore, Cape Cod. Mary Allerton gave birth to a stillborn in Plymouth Harbour.

This print draws inspiration from the culture of the Wampanoag people, the People of the First Light, into whose land the Mayflower Pilgrims arrived. The compass rose at the heart of the design reflects the voyage west of the pilgrims across the Atlantic seeking a new beginning and religious freedom. The first light can also be seen as a reference to the Book of Genesis:  “And God said, Let there be light and there was light.” The print evokes the meeting of two cultures and seeks to make the viewer reflect on the experiences of the Native people as well as the Pilgrims within the Mayflower story. 

Only 4 of the 18 Separatist women of the Mayflower lived to see the first summer - due mainly to deprivations of life on the damp ship where they spent winter while the men lived ashore.

 

This image reflects the central role the 4 surviving women had as pioneers and maternal figures in the colony, with memories of their 14 departed sisters as drops in the background.

 

More optimistically the change from blue to green, the colour of life and growth, alongside the dna chain, symbolises the continuing line of all the Pilgrim Mothers in subsequent generations of Mayflower descendants. 

People start their voyages in expectation; of a new and better life, escape, excitement, fulfillment of dreams , maybe just financial reasons . Nothing has changed over the years apart from the traveller now being able to choose comfort and safety.

This image was inspired  by the two Jubilee Sailing Trust tall ships coming home to Southampton in a full gale, against the contrast of the bulk of a modern container ship. My image illustrates the differences  and similarity between the Mayflower and Queen Mary 2, a modern cruise ship, which still crosses the same ocean with passengers sharing the same aspirations.

The journey,
... here the journey begins. You are leaving behind all you have ever known. You bring your knowledge, traditions and beliefs with you but it's just a matter of time before you experience a sense of loss and nostalgia for an almost forgotten home.

Mayflower 400 project not only commemorates the great voyage that changed the world. We should also see it as a sentimental tale of individuals deciding to take a huge risk, hoping that their lives might be better off lived in a foreign land.

In September 1620, pilgrim John Goodman, a 25-year old Mayflower passenger, brought his Mastiff and English Spring Spaniel along for the voyage. With a group of religious separatists boarded the Mayflower and began a 66 day trip from England to the New World.

Goodman’s dogs became essential members of the settlement, accompanying their owner on hunts and providing protection. Goodman did not survive that first winter in New World, but his dogs were cared for by the remaining pilgrims. The story of Goodman's dogs captured my imagination and motivated me to create my work.

The title, from Shakespeare's near contemporary work ‘The Tempest’, encapsulates the Pilgrims' hopes, even as the stormy seas encountered on their voyage brought them close to the shipwreck of the play's opening scene.

The design references the all-important compass, by which to set the course; Plymouth, their point of departure  (after initial embarkation at Southampton), and the point of landfall, on the shores of Cape Cod.  

Stepping ashore into a new world, the Pilgrim, in search of asylum and freedom to make his own life, encounters a Native American dwelling in this land, the land of his fathers.  

A new era is dawning.

My print, The Test of Time, is about the history of migration through Southampton and depicts the Mayflower and a great ocean liner leaving along Southampton Water, their starting point and destination the same but centuries apart.  The River Test converges with the River Itchen to form Southampton Water.  Many migrants have made Southampton their home, but as well as people the area also attracts many migrating birds.  In the back ground, Calshot Castle would have been the one constant in this changing scene as ships carrying migrants passed by. 

It is November 10th 1620; having faced treacherous seas off the Monomoy Shoals and strong head winds in a valiant attempt to reach northern Virginia, the Mayflower’s Captain reluctantly ordered her sails to be freed and to return downwind to seek the shelter of Cape Cod Harbour. It is bitterly cold on deck but a small group gather, hearts filled with the mixed emotions of trepidation and excitement of what lies before them. This scene brings back memories of my own adventures sailing across the Atlantic, and the stark contrast in experiences of that journey 367 years later.

With thoughts of migration and the need to start a new life in a new land my print has used some of the language of leaving. Recognising that people leave their homes for a better, sometimes safer, life and travel with hope and a desire for something new, whether running from danger or just because their new life and a new land will, hopefully, give them the welcome and protection they deserve. 

I have chosen to do a black and white lino print because I like the white line that creates text and image.

My print ‘Southampton Sailing’ is inspired by my love of Southampton and its architectural gems! I have attempted to depict the scene of the Mayflower ship leaving Southampton in 1620, with the protective walls in the background and the spire of St Michaels, at the very beginning of its journey to America and the hope of a new world! The print is monochrome, using line and pattern to create a simple but bold design.

I am a Southampton based printmaker, many of my images are inspired by the sea. My motivation for the image of West Gate Southampton was not one of romantic notion but an imagination of those brave souls boarding the Mayflower and Speedwell preparing for the trip to the unknown in the “New World”.

 

The image looks from the town outwards though West Gate to what would have been the waterfront, river and perhaps the waiting vessels. The viewer is invited to imagine how they might have felt facing this voyage with their own family.

Around 200,000 people sailed to north America in the 1600s driven by poverty, persecution and promises. Funding this emigration were merchants, eager to make golden profits and with eyes on the expanding demand for salt cod and beaver fur.  The Pilgrims, unable to escape without financial help, struck a deal. The Merchant Adventurers would put up most of the capital and the Pilgrims, free to worship as they wished, would repay in trading goods.  The chance of a better future now within their grasp, they arrived to a Cape Cod sunrise, a new day, hopefully a new life.

A dry point & chine colle, printed image of ‘Edward Winslow’.

 

My image is drawn from a picture of Edward Winslow’s portrait painted in 1651 in London. The portrait now hangs in the Pilgrim Museum Plymouth MA, and is the only verified image of one of the pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower to America in 1620.

 

In my print, I wished to bring the Pilgrims ‘to life’, they were devout, but they appeared very chaste and serious in their images, looking very demure in their black clothing, however they did have a lot of sex, and had many children. Also they were said in some texts to have liked to ‘make merry’, and wear red and purple.

​Hope is a powerful word and one that inspired me to create an etching of the Saints and Strangers’ Mayflower voyage.  Reading about their treacherous journey, I was struck by the passengers’ desire to start a new life far away from the difficulties they had suffered at home and how the prospect of the New World offered hope for their dream of a life without religious persecution.  Using screenprinted text and the Julian calendar, I wanted to succinctly illustrate a timeline of some of the trials they endured in order to achieve the new beginnings they had so desired.

I was inspired by the contrasting items the Pilgrims and Crew took with them on their

Mayflower voyage. Anticipating hardship and poor conditions some were practical – food,

seeds, animals, tools, clothing. Others could be described as frivolous, eccentric or perhaps

entrepreneurial and aspirational? William Mullins took 21 dozen pairs of shoes and 13 pairs

of boots. Many of the settlers died during their first winter in the new world. Mullins was one

of the first to leave a will on his death – and the inheritance of over 500 items of footwear

made his surviving family members very wealthy.

With thoughts of migration and the need to start a new life in a new land my print has used some of the language of leaving. Recognising that people leave their homes for a better, sometimes safer, life and travel with hope and a desire for something new, whether running from danger or just because their new life and a new land will, hopefully, give them the welcome and protection they deserve. 

I have chosen to do a black and white lino print because I like the white line that creates text and image.

© 2018 by Katharine LiBretto with Wix.com

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