Artist Talk | A Dialogue with Local Printmakers

Join us for a curator-led conversation with Lucy Ralph and Mary Ellen Carsley, two artists featured in Impressions of Japan! This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required. Doors open at 6:00 PM. Talk begins at 6:30 PM and runs approximately 45–60 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. Artist Talk | A Dialogue with Local Printmakers Featuring Lucy Ralph & Mary Ellen Carsley Presented by the Japan Information & Culture Center, Embassy of Japan in collaboration with Discover Graphics Atelier Join us for a curator-led conversation with Lucy Ralph and Mary Ellen Carsley, two artists featured in Impressions of Japan: A Dialogue with Local Printmakers . Drawing on their distinct backgrounds and creative practices, they’ll explore the ideas, techniques, and inspirations that inform their work, from Japanese printmaking traditions to the intricate beauty of the natural world. How do artistic traditions travel across cultures and find new expression in contemporary art? Join us for a curator-led conversation with Lucy Ralph and Mary Ellen Carsley, two artists featured in Impressions of Japan: A Dialogue with Local Printmakers , as they explore how Japanese art and culture have shaped their creative practices. Drawing on her background in painting, Ralph explores quiet, contemplative moments in nature through intaglio etching, creating intimate black-and-white prints that invite viewers into a moment of stillness. Carsley draws on her research-based practice of traditional Japanese woodblock printing (mokuhanga 木版画), exploring alternative ways to present her prints through formats such as Japanese accordion-style books (orihon 折本). Through a discussion of their work, techniques, and artistic influences, Ralph and Carsley will share how their individual experiences inform their approaches to printmaking and image-making. Featured Artists Lucy Ralp h Lucy Ralph is a British multidisciplinary artist whose practice encompasses painting and printmaking. Ralph has exhibited internationally in New York, Paris, London, and South Korea. Her practice has been featured in publications including Architectural Digest , and her awards include the Clyde & Co Art Award and the Altarea Cogedim Art Award . Predominantly working in oil on canvas, Ralph also pursues an ongoing engagement with printmaking. During a fellowship at The Cooper Union School of Art in New York, she studied Japanese printmaking techniques under Yasuyuki Shibata. Ralph earned her undergraduate degree from Central Saint Martins School of Art in London and her master’s degree at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Before relocating to Washington, DC, Ralph lived and worked in Paris for eight years. She is currently an affiliate artist of Discover Graphics Atelier at the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Mary Ellen Carsley Mary Ellen Carsley is an artist, former scientific and architectural illustrator, and an educator in both collegiate and museum settings. As a trained architect, Mary Ellen has illustrated eight books and numerous articles for national and international journals and continues to illustrate for museums and cultural institutions. Her works have been included in the collections of the National Building Museum and the Library of Congress . Working primarily in printmaking, watercolor, and ink, Carsley is inspired by the small universes inhabited by insects, birds, and plants. In her work, Carsley hopes to offer a lens into the intricate beauties of the tiny universes existing within the larger natural world around us. Through her work, she wishes that others can find the same reassurance, delight, and inspiration that, amidst all human endeavors, tiny nature not only perseveres but thrives.