Sally Brophy designs Swim for Life T-shirt, poster and postcards The much anticipated 2005 Swim for Life t-shirt design has been created by local artist Sally Brophy. The colorful white line block print depicts swimmers and kayakers at Long Point at the start of the annual fundraiser, set this year for September 10. The wood block print design has been donated by the artist for use on this year’s Swim brochures, posters and postcards. The t-shirts are available at the AIDS Support Group table at the firehouse next to Town Hall, and all items are available at www.swim4life.org. Businesses, swimmers and kayakers who are collecting pledges and donations may request these promotional materials by calling 508 487-1930 or emailing thecompact@comcast.net. Brophy has participated in the Swim for Life for many years as a kayaker, and was particularly captivated by the personalities of the swimmers at the start at Long Point. “There are always a variety of reactions after the initial cheer goes up,” she stated. “Many people run charging into the water, some slowly wade in wincing at the cold waves, while others walk gracefully hand in hand. I wanted to create a white line print that captured that moment.” Brophy was raised in Maine, attended college in Boston, and worked for over 20 years as a graphic artist in Maine, Boston and Laguna Beach, California before moving to Provincetown in 1998. Over the years she has studied ceramics, woodworking, bookmaking and watercolor before focusing on printmaking. The slow, deliberate process of cutting wood to create a line, then applying paint and paper to the board to produce a print, brought her back to the roots of the creative process. Rather than being true to realistic space and form required in graphic design, she became much more interested in representing the emotional shape of an object or scene. What memory does this evoke? What color is that memory, that emotion? This single block method of color printmaking, known at the Provincetown Print, originated in Provincetown in 1915 when a group of artists, studying in Paris, moved to Provincetown. Ethel Mars, Maud Squire, Ada Gilmore and Mildred McMillen were joined by Juliette Nichols and B.J.O. Nordfeldt, forming a group called the “Provincetown Printmakers.” Blanche Lazzell joined them later that year. The Provincetown Print combines all the colors on one block of wood, differing in this way from the Japanese and German methods of color printmaking which called for one block of wood per color. This new technique simplified the process by having the entire design cut on one block. The V-shaped cuts separate each color and, in printing, leave a white line that emphasizes the design. This process has been passed down by individuals through the generations. Brophy studied with Kathi Smith, who learned it from her grandmother, Ferol Sibley Warthen, who studied with Blanche Lazzell. Brophy is represented by the Lyman-Eyer Gallery, 349 Commercial Street, and has shown her work extensively on the Lower Cape and at the New Bedford Art Museum and the Cape Cod Museum of Fine Arts. The 18th Annual Provincetown Harbor Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, a fundraiser for AIDS, women’s health and youth, is scheduled for September 10, 2005, and is sponsored by the Provincetown Banner, Mike's Movies/Boston, Paul Mitchell, the Boatslip Resort, Far Land Provisions, Provincetown Visitor Services Board and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. For pledge forms and volunteer, Pool Splash, or Provincetown Harbor Lights information, or to make a contribution, contact: thecompact@comcast.net, 508 487-1930, www.swim4life.org, or write, Swim for Life & Paddler Flotilla, P.O. Box 819, Provincetown, MA 02657. Friday Sept 8 8:00 PM Celebration of Life Concert @ Universalist Meeting House Saturday Sept 9 8:30 - 10:30 AM Kayak / Paddler Flotilla Registration @ Boatslip Resort 9:30 - 10:30 AM Swimmer Registration @ Boatslip Resort 11:00 AM Swim for Life Begins from Long Point 11:30 AM Public Greets Swimmers 12:00 - 3:00 PM Mermaid Brunch @ Boatslip Resort Sunday Sept 10 Starting at dusk Provincetown Harbor Lights at MacMillan Wharf