slightly wonky

A rainy, grey day here in the Boston area.  My son has caught a cold, so I’m trying to avoid having him cough on me excessively. 

Last night’s printmaking class was a lot of fun…just five of us trying anything out that comes to mind.  Everyone does such different stuff.   I wish that I could show the other students’ work as well!  You’d see how interesting and diverse our things are.

I had made a drypoint plate, which shows up in several of the works.  I also did a lot of chine colle this week.   I had some interesting origami paper that I incorporated into lots of these pieces. 

I’m also working on a bigger linocut.  It’s going much more pleasantly than my previous one, as I’m using a better kind of linoleum.  I’ve decided that the classic, “battleship grey” linoleum is a pain.  This one is a golden color…cuts more easily…doesn’t crumble as easily, and is generally more pleasant to work with.  I’ve also pulled out my woodcarving tools, as my little Speedball set of tools is limited and clunky.

So, here are the prints from last night.  I like the greys with the bright pops of color.  My favorite is the last one…

All of the pictures are going to be dark, as there is no sunlight today!  This one above is the drypoint plate with chine colle.  I did this a few times:

And again:

I was experimenting with how I removed, or wiped, the ink from the plate.  Some are better than others!  See how “inky” that one is?

Then, I took a break from that drypoint plate.  I had springtime colors on the brain…in amongst the grey…

Even brighter:

I’m not sure if I’m finished with that one.

A bit of an experiment with scratch foam…kind of like the styrofoam trays that you get from the grocery store.  I like the fact that the pieces look like they are part of the sky, but somehow the overall isn’t great.  I need to help it somehow…suggestions?

Some layered chine colle…I’m not sure if I’m finished with this one yet either:

I like this one the best, even though the registration was off.  I started with a monotype, then I decided to put my drypoint plate on it.  Unfortunately, the plates weren’t the same size…but I didn’t care…spoken like a true novice:

What do you think?  Helpful comments?  Advice from experienced printmakers?  I have to say…I look over these prints, and most seem incomplete.  So, I’ll see if I can revist them at my next class… 

Are you as tired of winter as I am???  I planted some bulbs this year, so I am hoping to see some pops of color in a couple of months!  Until then, I have to stick with ink…