Mickey Mencin is a self-taught “old-school” printmaker who creates hand-carved, hand-pulled, and hand-colored Linoleum prints, illustrations and home goods in a modern Arts & Crafts style. Her Linoleum-carved block prints are hand-pulled on archival paper and painted with Gouache or markers in vibrant colors making each print a unique work of art.
Influenced by designers William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Josef Frank and others, her work reflects the way she sees the natural world around her. Her process begins by taking photographs of places and spaces in her Lakewood, Ohio neighborhood and beyond. She is always on the lookout for colorful flower beds, farmer’s market flowers, cut flower arrangements and interesting nature studies. With a photo as her guide, she creates a hyper-graphical composition that exposes the contrast of light and dark within the image. After she carves the block with Pfeil and Flexcut gouges, she inks the Linopleum block with Speedball Supergraphic ink and hand-pulls (burnishes) the print using a baren or her Woodzilla press on archival paper. Most prints are hand-painted in colors inspired by vintage Fiesta pottery and dinnerware.
Prior to becoming a full-time printmaker, Mickey led content, creative and brand teams at KeyBank, Hyland Software and her own agency, Ideamarks. She launched Made in Lakewood (@madeinlkwd) to help local artists exhibit their work in local places. Mickey holds degrees in Journalism and Graphic Design from Kent State University and is a member of the Ann Arbor Guild of Artists & Artisans, Zygote Press, and a former director of Beck Center for the Arts.​