Printmaking, one of the oldest forms of art, goes back to the beginning of time. After starting in China, the use of paper-printed images spread to Europe and then the rest of the world.
Fast forward to 2013, to a little third floor shop at 320 N. Michigan Ave., directly across from the Main Library, downtown. Studio M, a “modest printmaking studio,” is owned and operated by Mania (Mah – nya) “Mary” Dajnak. The studio opened in ‘09, with classes going regularly since that time. The classes focus on one type of printmaking per session, but can accommodate woodcut, collagraph, silk screen, monoprint, waterless lithography, & some intaglio.
Dajnak, has shown at different faculty shows while being a regular in the TAA, but doesn’t go overboard looking for business. When asked if she is seeking exposure, she shrugs her shoulders lightly and says “Sure.” What seems to be the true motivating force of Studio M is her love of the art form, and a space for her to do her work. “I’ve tried classes, and there doesn’t seem to be enough interest,” she says. “The workshops work pretty well, but I’ve kinda cut back on the classes.”
This is really not to say that Dajnak does not love what she does. Au contraire. Just by looking at her web site (www.maniadjnak.com) you can see a long impressive list of where she’s shown, publications she’s been in, where she’s taught, workshops and more.
Primed to print
Dajnak’s background in printmaking is intense: a BFA in printmaking at Tyler School of Art at Temple University, graduate school at the University of Pennsylvania, and an MFA in Fine Arts, with a focus on printmaking. She also took courses at Indiana University and studied printmaking on a Fulbright at the Akademia Sztuk Pieknych in Krakow, Poland.
Dajnak ended up in Toledo after her husband was offered a job at Owens Community College. She took a part time job at OCC, but has also taught at University of Toledo and Bowling Green State University.
When asked what it was about printmaking that nabbed her she says “It happened in high school…. I tried to veer away from it, but it just kept coming back.” She used the skill to print up programs and posters for plays and school functions. “It was a combination of process and image—that involvement in figuring out how to make things come together, to create the image through the process.”
She is currently working on a series of monoprints (prints only pressed a single time) from a single woodcut, utilizing stencils and woodblock, which goes through the press several times. Printmaking is chaotic—the results are often unpredictable, and the list of processes needed to achieve an effect can be long. Dajnak can’t always remember some of the processes that go into her prints—which actually can be part of the charm.
Dajnak explains that when a drawing is done it’s finished. But with her prints, there’s always possibilities that can be explored, such as adding more or even cutting them up to make new pieces—she’s always open for the “happy accident.” It’s that mystery that makes her work and Studio M a fascinating endeavor.
Studio M’s schedule and other information can be found at www.studio-m-printmakers.com
