Edda Valborg Sigurðardóttir Memorial Scholarship Fund

Edda Valborg Sigurðardóttir was a gifted artist and beloved member of our community, who left this world on November 13, 2025. With the help of Annie Silverman, we established this scholarship fund in her name, so that those who wish to honor her memory can do so by helping other artists experience the joy and discovery of printmaking.

Edda joined Zea Mays Printmaking in 2015 and immediately brought her beautiful lightness to the studio. Edda was an active member of the studio, where she could be found working away on cinematic monotypes of the Icelandic landscape, photopolymer prints of land, sky and sea, collages and lovely artists’ books. She participated in the Artist Mentorship Program in 2016, with Lynn Peterfreund as her mentor. She volunteered on the exhibition committee for many years, where she put her graphic design background to good use and was responsible for countless show invitations and labels. But most importantly, Edda became a close friend to many in our community and brought joy, humor and a love of life and art with her every time she entered our space. We will miss her deeply and cherish the memories we have of her.

“I met Edda as her teacher in a workshop, Print, Wax, Poke and Stitch, at Zea Mays Printmaking in 2018. It was during that workshop that she began to wax her monotypes of Icelandic landscapes with liquid beeswax, to turn into books and stitched, print collages.

Over the years we became friends and inky colleagues. Edda became interested in learning more about woodcut prints and would email me images of her efforts, and in 2024 attended an intensive Printmania workshop at my studio, Abrazos Press, where she delved more deeply into carving and printing.

When I heard from Edda about her decision to terminate her treatments for leukemia and be home with her family, I told her I supported her brave decision and almost immediately thought of launching a scholarship in her honor at Zea Mays, so that her spirit, curiosity and love of printmaking could continue to inspire others through supporting artists to participate in their excellent program of workshops.

Sadly, that time arrived all too soon. I hope that the Edda scholarship Fund will help artists to further their creative practices in printmaking and take joy in the process of discovery like Edda did.”

– Annie Silverman