Emma Bilyeu

Fellow

Emma Bilyeu is a visual artist working out of her basement studio in Humboldt Park, Chicago. As a student of printmaking and book arts she likes to incorporate paper, letter shapes, book forms, and multiples into her work. With this she is able to explore ideas of communication and storytelling. When not in the studio, Emma is cuddling her dog, reading dystopian or self-help literature, or painting edges of business cards at Rohner Letterpress.

Website:

Project Statement:

With access to Spudnik facilities, I will implement multiple printing methods for the completion of this project. The bulk of the case-bound book will consist of copperplate intaglio prints that include screen printed and letterpress elements. I hope to experiment with translucency though the use of transparent and/or clear substrates, building layered imagery.

I would like to use this book and supporting, framed visual elements as a vehicle to explore ideas of communication, more specifically communication between myself and those I love. With text-like elements in a book-like format I plan to address the benefits of transparency in dialogue all the while finding comfort in a hidden fog of silence or ambiguity.