Recent Q&A with Priya Rama of Gallery 708

How long have you been an artist/designer?


I have been a designer and illustrator for nearly 20 years, and have been printmaking for the past five years. I also minored in art history and my work often references the past 150 years of graphic design.


What in your youth/childhood helped you decide to become an artist/printmaker?


My mother was a commercial artist/designer when I was young and I would often draw while she worked at a drafting table.


Has your work changed over the years? How so?


I like to continually challenge myself with greater difficulties and increasing the amount of detail in my work.


Tell us more about your process.


Printmaking allows for me to elevate graphic design to a fine art through attention to craftsmanship. The creative process doesn't end with the image — paper and ink can add so much beauty and finesse to a piece.


I love to create an image that stops the viewer at a distance, and continues to delight them with fine levels of detail as they get closer to my work.


I research my subject matter and develop content. Typically I take between 10 to 20 hours to illustrate my prints. I then spend around another 5 hours to create custom headline typography. I also like to include other design elements like borders, patterns, monograms.


How is your work different than other artists doing Cincinnati-themed works?


My career as a graphic designer is what makes my work different than other artists depicting Cincinnati. I consider graphic design the marriage of image with typography to communicate a message.


Whose works are you influenced by?


My "heritage-style" of very intricate illustrations of architectural landmarks is inspired by great draftsmen and architects like Samuel Hannaford. My other style is a playful geometric pop-art illustration style that is influenced by artists like Keith Herring, Mike Perry and Charley Harper.


For your "love" series, what's your process, technique and how do you choose images to go in the heart?
For the Queen City Love, I thought it would be a fun image to place our skyline in a heart as a way to celebrate our city's great civic pride. I have created an initial run of letterpressed prints and cards with Rachael Hetzel of Pistachio Press as well as a run of larger screenprinted posters I made in my new studio in Northside.