Siri Beckman, a master of wood engravings, opens as the first of two exhibitions entitled "Printmakers in Conversation" at the PhoPa Gallery, 132 Washington Avenue, Portland, on Wednesday, May 8 at a public reception from 5 - 7:00 p.m. Her solo show continues through June 8 and Beckman will give a free artist's talk on Sunday, May 19  at 2:00 p.m.

Since the 1970's Beckman has captured the daily life of Stonington, where she lives, and surrounding Downeast fishing communities, in her accomplished black and white wood engravings. In addition to a significant number of images that reflect her rootedness in Maine, the exhibit will include several prints of the American west accomplished since 2000, during numerous artist-in-residences positions at some of the nation's most spectacular western parks and monuments. 

Beckman earned a BA in art history from Lake Forest College in Illinois, and after 15 years as a self-taught wood engraver, she received an MFA from the University of the Arts, in Philadelphia, in 1992. She has taught workshops on Eagle Island and the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine, and has been an Assistant and Adjunct Professor at the University of Maine in Orono. Her  highly admired prints and handmade books are in the permanent collections of Harvard University, the Boston Public Library, Bates and Wellesley colleges, the University of New England, the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland and the Portland Museum of Art.

Part  II of "Printmakers in Conversation" will feature the woodcuts of Barbara Putnam, this year’s Coastal Studies Artist-in-Residence at Bowdoin College, a neighbor of Beckman’s from Deer Isle, and a longtime printmaking colleague.

The PhoPa Gallery is located at 132 Washington Avenue in Portland, formerly the location of Addison Woolley Gallery. Hours are Wednesday - Saturday, noon to 5:00 p.m., and by appointment. For more information contact Traci Wagner, Gallery Manager, at twagner@mainemedia.edu or visit us on Facebook at Maine Media Workshops + College PhoPa Gallery.