Bellavance, Julie

In the summer of 2019, Julie Bellavance attended a residency at the Lithographie-Werkstatt in Eichstätt, Germany. This is the first step of her lithographic journey to become a professional printmaker. Julie’s memories of the residency are somewhat naive. She describes to me “her friend Li” without ever mentioning it is THE Li Portenlänger, a well known lithographer in charge of the Eichstätt lithography programm since 1998. She tells me, in one breath, that she visited a limestone quarry near the residency’s venue, named the Solnhofen quarry, that offers the best limestone for lithographer in the world. I laughed when she confied this to me; Julie is the only one who can discuss her obsession for lithography as if it was a normal Sunday at the pool. Paeonia is a series of lithographs produced during her stay with “her friend Li”. The german peony is now immortalized in paper after being drawn on a Solnhofen’s stone. I chose this magnificient print because it is a unique variation of the theme, but also because it perfeclty represents Julie’s quest to fully understand her medium. Julie’s memories of the residency are so naive. She describes to me “her friend Li” without ever mentioning she is THE Li Portenlänger, a well known lithographer in charge of the Eichstätt lithography programm since 1998. She tells me, in one breath, that she visited a limestone quarry near the residency’s venue. She says the Solnhofen quarry offers the best limestone for lithographer in the world. I laugh when she confined this to me; Julie is the only one who can discuss her obsession for lithography as if it was a normal sunday at the pool. Paeonia is a serie of lithographs that was produced during her stay with “her friend Li”. The german peony is now immortalized in paper after being drawn on a Solnhofen’s stone. I chose this magnificient print because it is a unique variation of the theme, but also because it perfeclty represents Julie’s quest to fully understand her medium. - Sevia Pellissier