Julie Lapping Rivera works primarily in woodcut, often combined with monotype and collage. Well-versed in traditional woodcut techniques, Julie enjoys experimenting with alternative forms and processes related to relief printmaking. Working in series, she explores the collective interior world of thoughts, feelings and dreams. Recently, her gaze has turned outward towards social issues. Over the past five years she has been creating a series of woodcut portraits of women in history, many of whose accomplishments have not been adequately acknowledged. The prints are accompanied by portrait poems written by a diverse group of women poets. Collaborating with fellow artists and writers is a growing part of her practice.
Julie received her BFA in Printmaking from the University of Massachusetts and her MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute. While living in NY, Julie was awarded an Artist Fellowship in Drawing, Artist in Residence grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts, and Arts in Education grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Julie’s arts in education experience in New York includes MOMA, Lincoln Center Institute and the Studio In A School Association. In 2022 Julie represented Boston Printmakers as the Visiting Guest Artist at Scoula Internazionale di Grafica in Venice. Currently, in addition to teaching workshops at Zea Mays, Julie teaches in the art department at Smith College. She teaches workshops and exhibits her work locally, nationally and internationally.
Individualized Instruction
Teaching has always been interwoven with and complementary to my studio practice. I love exploring the technical, formal and aesthetic aspects of the creative process with others on the path. I feel that we are traveling together towards deeper understanding of how, by engaging with the making of images, we can explore our creative ideas with curiosity, discernment and self reflection. In the process, we move towards what is truly meaningful to us in our work. Forty years of making, looking at and teaching art have given me a breadth of knowledge that I enjoy sharing with others. Deep respect for the integrity of your process and a commitment to making the joy of art accessible to all are at the heart of my teaching.