Ben Bohnsack | LUX Center for the Arts | Art Gallery, Classes, Summer Camps & Outreach
 

Ben Bohnsack

Ben Bohnsack

Artist
Profile Location
Marquette , MI
Biography

Ben Bohnsack is a woodcut artist and printmaker, making woodblock prints inspired by the landscapes, creatures and human enterprises of our world. He creates multi-color relief prints, usually with representational designs, using two or more blocks by reduction, making 12-20 originals, all hand-printed. He uses ink which soy based and environmentally friendly. The images must necessarily be simplified to accommodate carving, inking and printing, but the process itself is very calculated in order to create dramatic scenes, worthy of attention and appreciation.

His career as an artist evolved through the years. After a lifelong sideline as a do-it-yourselfer and woodworker, he was drawn to find out more about making woodblock prints. His career as a pastor was very creative in so many ways and in retirement that creativity is being applied in new directions through his art. Education and travel have been especially important for Ben, his wife and family, and those values are also seen in his art.

After attending a workshop with professional woodcut artist Nick Wroblewski, Ben began to explore his own possibilities. With every print came increased ability. Subjects centered at first on nearby places, wildlife and people, and have now broadened out through art residencies, exhibitions, teaching workshops and travel. Not having any art education, he took relevant and helpful classes available through the nearby university. Collegial relationships with other artists grew by joining the art association and a gallery of local artists. Completing ten years, his artistic skills have now emerged into a full artistic career he thoroughly enjoys.

Ben especially seeks out art residencies to broaden his artistic experience. Time focused on his art is particularly productive and the opportunity to be inspired by new places broadens his subject matter and develops new skills. He always seeks interaction with new communities, artists and visitors wherever he goes, another dimension of being a resident which stimulates new ideas and provides a high level of interest and affirmation. Residencies have included Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Homestead National Historical Park, Mackinac Island State Historical Park, and Bonifas Arts Center.

Ben and his wife, Marcia, are outgoing retirees who engage easily with others. They have three married children and eight grandchildren, living in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Evanston, Illinois and Dusseldorf, Germany. Ben plays trumpet and Marcia French horn in the Marquette City Band and they are part of Marquette Hope United Methodist Church. Ben is a volunteer in the Upper Peninsula Sled Dog Association and the Marquette County Democratic Party. They have a travel trailer they use frequently in local areas, but they have also travelled throughout the United States, as well as Europe, South America, and China, both on their own and with various tours.

Artist Statement

I make woodblock prints (woodcuts) inspired by the landscapes, creatures and human enterprises of our world. What I do are almost entirely landscapes and closeups of the natural world. Most of my woodcuts are multicolor relief prints, using two or more blocks by reduction, usually making 12-20 originals, all hand-printed. The ink I use is environmentally friendly. While the images must necessarily be simplified to accommodate carving, inking and printing the various layers, the process itself is very calculated and sophisticated in order to create dramatic scenes, worthy of attention and appreciation.

The ideas beginning in what I see and imagine emerge in carved lines and forms shaped in wood and ink, a fascinating process that always surprises me. Did I really do that? If my art is within me it often seems far beyond me, a legacy which is mine but eventually belongs to everyone.

Medium
Print / Paper
 
 

Exhibitions Featuring this Artist

Una Scott
Kestutis Vasiliunas
Wesley Kramer
Nicholas Wilson
Wuon Gean Ho
Nikki Barber
Ximena Medina Sancho
Kristin Boyer
Kim Fink
Madilyn Anderson
Brady Nichols
Mara Cozzolino
Ben Bohnsack
Marga Galins
Tenjin Ikeda
Merlyn Chesterman
Nathaniel Ruleaux
Christopher Thomas
Normandie Syken
Michael DalCerro
Rich Fowler
Art Hazelwood
Savannah Crawford
Nina Jordan
Shealagh Pope
Colin Denney
Johanna Mueller
Susan Marie Brundage
Josh Winkler
Tanushree Vachharajani
Katrina Dienno
Tom Virgin
Kelly Hanning
Carol Acquilano
Cynthia Back
Holly Berry
Claire Bowman
Donna Brown
Art Brown
Christa Carleton
Gino Castellanos
Bernhard Cociancig
Ben Darling
Danielle Dewees
Gil Dickinson
James Ehlers
Ian Huebert
David Johnson
Brian Kreydatus
Jim Monson
Alexandra Motiu
Claudio Orso
Andy Owen
Agata Perzynska
Endi Poskovic
Alyssa Ringler
Catherine Rozmarynowycz
Aric Russom
Adrian Tio
Donald VanAuken
Jun
03
6/3/22 to 8/26/22
Print / Paper
Brett Anderson
Paul Coldwell
Amy Haney
Endi Poskovic
Meryl Engler
Cheryl Hochberg
Mia O
Cameron Bailey
Julian Davies
Joanna Anos
David Johnson
Jean Gumpper
Aric Russom
Bernhard Cociancig
Brian Kreydatus
Cynthia Back
Ian Huebert
Merlyn Chesterman
Ben Bohnsack
Patrick Casey
Joselyn Andreasen
Mary Claire Becker
Anne Beidler
Ann Bissett
Derek Buckley
Evan Charney
Cathie Crawford
Michael Dal Cerro
Andy Farkas
Henry Gepfer
Susan Howe
Stephanie Hunder
Dariusz Kaca
Adam Larsen
Elizabeth Melnyczuk
Kaoru Morita
Rod Nelson
Adam Pitt
Joanne Price
Emelia Robinson
Roxanne Sexauer
Lynita Shimizu
Robynn Smith
Jeff White
Sara Woodburn
Malgorzata Stanielewicz
Jill Jepsen
Jun
21
6/21/24 to 8/31/24
Print / Paper

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