Stoffdoktor

Stoffdoktor is Regina D’Alfonso, a former doctor turned artist. She re-discovered linocut by pure coincidence, as she tells us; “I had subscribed to a mystery art supply box during the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic. I carved and printed a humpback whale and liked the technique which I had not tried since high-school.” However, since Regina was still searching for her personal style, she kept on experimenting with other media. A few months later she saw a printmaking challenge on Instagram with weekly prompts, and after completing a few of them, she was hooked on the medium.

“The printmaking community was very welcoming and I very much enjoy the different approach of each one of the hundreds of printmakers whose progress I am following.”

Originally using midsized traditional hessian-backed brown linoleum, and then blue rubber blocks which she used to print on post-it notes, Regina’s output developed and she started using lettering to express issues that are important to her. Nowadays, this varies, depending on her time (“always too little”), her patience (“same”), and her need to say something (“usually strong, I mean look at this world!“).

Alongside her own practice, Regina also teaches workshops from a room in her local art supply store. She comments; “These workshops give me a lot of joy, learning the basics of linoprint is simple and inexpensive and I’ve had students come a second time because the atmosphere while carving and printing as a group is just lovely.” She continues; “I wish I could afford a studio in the city with a showroom and a big table for group printing events, but for now I keep daydreaming about this.”

The inspiration for Regina’s prints mainly comes from human emotions and simple, everyday life occurrences. “I noticed that it helps me dealing with my own emotions a lot when I compress hours of thoughts into a few lines or words,” says the printmaker. Regina then decorates these results with simple ornaments, leaves, animals, symbols, or any contrast to the contents of the text.  She also really enjoys mixing ink, so often incorporates gradients into her work. She states; “Sometimes, it is really about the process. I find it very soothing to concentrate on the carving, the inking and the printing. If I wouldn’t have 4 kids, a dog and a husband to interrupt me at random, I could completely lose myself in the work.”

Recently, Regina purchased some screenprinting equipment, and plans to create some statement shirts and printed fabric following some experiments with lino printing on fabric that she wasn’t entirely happy with.

Another passion of Regina’s is murals. She describes; “Whenever I feel the urge to scale up, I find myself a wall and have at it with acrylic markers and house paint.” This started with the preparations for a mural she was commissioned to spraypaint for the urban art gallery in her city. “The organiser, a graffiti artist and graphic designer had seen my tiny prints on sticky notes and liked my pithy style,” says Regina. Thus, she continues; “It’s always a good idea to get your art out there, you never know who sees it.”

www.stoffdoktor.com
@stoffdoktor

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