For the last 11 years, Katya McCulloch has been teaching block printing at San Quentin State Prison. Over the years, she has figured out what works in a prison setting and what doesn’t when it comes to making prints.
On most Friday mornings, McCulloch can be found in the San Quentin art studio teaching linoleum block cutting techniques, commonly referred to as lino-cuts. “We’ve tried different types of printing, but because of equipment and security concerns, lino-cuts are the most practical,” she says.
Before coming to teach at San Quentin, McCulloch worked in alternative education. She and a fellow artist helped start the Teamworks Art Mentoring Program in Marin County, which provides art classes for at-risk youth, who do not typically have access to art education.
“Growing up I went to a high school that didn’t have any art programs. When I found print making at the college level, I found my language,” says McCulloch.
Her path to higher education was not a straight one. McCulloch attended five different colleges before graduating from the University of California at Berkeley with a degree in German literature and art practice. “It took me 11 years to complete my degree, and I give thanks to the community college system for allowing a mother with kids to re-enter the higher education system.”
After graduating, McCulloch lived for four years in Berlin, Germany, where she attended the Berlin Free University, which specializes in liberal arts. “The legacy of the German Expressionist made a huge impact on me,” says McCulloch, adding that she was especially affected by the artwork of the painter Paul Klee.
She says having an internationally diverse background and living in an affluent county like Marin made her want to give back. “I have a lot of understanding in how narrow the definition of fitting is and how hard it is to find an outlet for your creative side.”
McCulloch says she considers herself lucky that she found art. “If creativity doesn’t find an outlet, it can become self-destructive.”
As for working inside San Quentin, McCulloch says she enjoys it very much. “It’s never boring. I like working with other artists on collaborative projects because I enjoy watching how ideas grow with all the other participants’ input,” she says. San Quentin artists have their own vision and possess high skill sets, she added. “It’s interesting and challenging working with these adult artists.”
In addition to making prints, McCulloch is a sculptor and painter — although she admits she hasn’t painted in some time. Her artwork was recently exhibited at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, where work by artists from San Quentin was also displayed. “I felt proud to have my work shown there; it felt like an accomplishment,” she says.
McCulloch’s work can be seen locally in an exhibit at the Westamerica Bank, Red Hill Branch, in San Anselmo. Her work with the San Quentin artists can be seen in the traveling exhibit “Absence and Presence,” which features artwork inspired by bombings in Baghdad, Iraq.
The show has already been exhibited in San Francisco, Boston and London and will eventually show at the National Library in Baghdad before it is permanently displayed at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. To find out more about this show, readers can search “al-Mutanabbi Street starts here.”
McCulloch came to San Quentin when the art program was looking to diversify its classes. Since arriving, her work has been quite successful, gaining her respect from the men she has taught. “Ultimately, I think being exposed to art makes us more rounded human beings. Art is a universal human need and not just an elitist profession,” she commented.
