Every song he has heard and every road he has traveled have left a special print on Jonathan Goodman’s life – literally.
Printmaking senior Goodman said he first became interested in the art form when he took “Introduction to Printing” after three-and-a-half years at the University.
“I came in 2001 as a business major,” Goodman said. “I finally took Intro to Printmaking and fell in love with it.”
Since taking the class, Goodman has changed his major and said he is passionate about the art in which he hopes to pursue a career.
“Printmaking is the visual representation of my passion,” he said in his artist’s mission statement. “My intent is to create visual metaphors for my life experiences and shape universal images from them which a viewer can relate to.”
On a recent trip to California, Goodman said he was inspired by the landscape and music he experienced. Goodman said he hoped to share his travels with the viewers here.
“The main thing I noticed in California was just how different everything was there from here,” he said. “I joined the landscapes with music and my reasons for going there in my work. Through all that, I tried to create an image of what I had seen for viewers here.”
Goodman said the use of layering, stenciling and color combinations is a constant in his work. The Shreveport native said he works with various print media including lithography, intaglio, silkscreen and relief.
“This mixed-media approach is necessary in order to create a piece of art that is rich in diversity, originality and interest,” Goodman said.
Goodman said he learned to appreciate diversity in life and in art after spending time in the development town of Karmiel, Israel teaching English to elementary-aged children.
“The experience taught me to embrace the diversity of the world and to incorporate various thoughts, feelings and ways of life into my art and personal life.”
Goodman said his main inspiration stems from music.
“The music I make as well as listen to is a constant source of ideas for my art,” Goodman said. “I like to connect the communicative forms of art and music and express them through my prints.”
Goodman said he has participated in shows but has not sold a large number of prints.
“I haven’t sold enough to make a living,” he said. “I have sold about four or five in one night, which I was happy about.”
Upon graduation this May, Goodman said he plans to begin his future as a professional printmaker. Goodman said he hopes to work in or open a print shop, although he will always continue to make his own art.
“There is something sensual and hypnotic about the sound of the roller inking up for a pass over a stone,” Goodman said. “When I am working on a litho stone, I lose all sense of time and place. There is only the ink, the roller and me.”
 
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