BEHIND THE BRAND
HOW IT BEGAN
Hi, my name is Dodie Anderson Bertolino. I am the grand daughter of Walter Anderson and I started re-producing accessories featuring his artwork in 2011, which is how Inky Printing was born. Although I never had the honor of meeting my grandfather, I feel as though I grew a personal relationship with him through his artwork. As a child, I was mesmerized by his block prints and water colors and as I grew older I worked with my mother printing clothing as well as paper products. This only grew my love and respect for the reproduction of my grandfather's creations.
WHERE THE DESIGNS COME FROM
Walter Inglis Anderson, the South's greatest artist, was born in New Orleans on September 29th, 1903. He studied at Parsons Institute in New York and graduated from Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1928. He won the Cresson Award which enabled him to travel in France and Spain. When he returned to the United States he settled with his family in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Anderson was a passionate, reclusive man who was wholly absorbed in experiencing the natural world through his art. He worked in oils, watercolors, pencil, pen and ink. He sculpted in wood, carved pieces of furniture, cut intricate linoleum blocks for printing large panels and friezes, carved and decorated pottery, designed ceramic figures and painted extraordinary murals. In the 1940's Anderson carved nearly 300 linoleum block prints. These printed designs were originally intended by him as public art. The original blocks have been retired for conservation. The images are transferred by silkscreen to facilitate their reproduction on a variety of surfaces. The Walter Anderson Museum of Art opened in Ocean Springs in 1991. It is one of the few museums in the nation devoted to one artist's work. In 2003 Anderson's work was displayed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. to honor the centennial of his birth.