- June 15, 2025
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For prolific print artist Zerbe Sodervick, selecting the pieces to feature at a show opening is no small task. Each scroll of thick paper captures a fleeting moment, immortalizing the botanical geometry of a star-shaped leaf or the particular splash pattern of a dash of fabric dye.
She is, however, particularly well equipped to take on the challenge of curating her pieces that will be on display at All Angels by the Sea Episcopal Church this season, considering she studied gallery composition earlier in her career.
Sodervick said the unpredictability of printmaking is what makes this medium so engaging, enough to capture her attention since her freshman year of college.
"I walked into this classroom and thought, 'You know, I think printmaking is something I'm meant to do,'" she said. "I liked not just the immediate work that came out of it, but also the layers of the entire process.
Sodervick originally hails from Nebraska, but she also traveled among Minnesota, South Dakota, New York and many other states before permanently moving to this area of Florida about 10 years ago.
She now operates out of her studio, Z ArtWorks, in Rosemary District of Sarasota.
Her prints feature highly textured or pigmented inclusions that leave bold impressions on the page, which she sometimes coats in beeswax and sometimes leaves bare, ready to go back in the boiling pot if artistic intuition strikes.
"That's what I love about this art form," she said. "I could immediately get something that I like, or I can say that I'd like to come back to it."
In fact, Sodervick often collaborates with fellow artists whom she will send a piece she's started but believes has more potential.
She said she loves how such works take on a life of their own, whether her friends add something and return it or continue to pass it along to their gifted friends.
Such printmaking can be a rigorous process. But Sodervick said she appreciates the whimsy and humor that can go hand-in-hand with it.
Linn Torres said the church is excited to feature Sodervick's works through the end of June.
Sodervick was one of half a dozen artists who attended iconography artist Christine Hales' debut exhibit at All Angels a year ago, and that cohort of artists has kept in touch ever since. So, Torres said it was only natural the church would feature Sodervick this summer.
To start off All Angels' summer artist series, her nephew, Thane Reed, and his wife Sonia recently assisted Sodervick in composing the gallery at the church. She said she likes to arrange her work in creative ways that don't necessarily group coordinating color patterns or types of imprints. Rather, she likes to foster a space where viewers are left to interpret and compare the abstract art for themselves.
"It's such a great medium because sometimes I'll get a deep, crisp color, and sometimes not. I never know exactly how it will turn out, so it's like Christmas every day," she said.
She said inspiration for what imprints to embed in her art comes from everywhere and anywhere. A rusting metal screw may impart a strikingly rich mahogany color into the sturdy paper media she uses as her canvas, boiling the found trinkets for up to eight hours.
"Sometimes they're found objects on the street. Sometimes I'll clean out my refrigerator for lettuce and radishes. Sometimes I get a lot of color, and sometimes I'll end up with mostly black and white impressions," she said. "It says so much about the neighborhood."
Sonia joked she finds noticing interesting items for printmaking Sodervick may appreciate when going on nature walks.
Sodervick utilizes botanical items as well, pressing leaves, lemon slices and other materials into the pages, like a more sophisticated and precise version of pressing a flower between the pages of a book.
Torres encourages all community members to visit All Angels to see the latest showcase and to keep an eye out for upcoming art events this year, including a fundraiser to support St. Boniface Episcopal Church and a smaller-scale version of All Angels' renowned annual art sale.
Those interested in learning more about Sodervick's work can email inquiries to [email protected].
