Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, boston, Ink, Mexico, Paris, printmaking, Relief print, Visual Arts, Woodcut
Today was a day of mild frustration. I have finished carving a woodblock to print. It will have two colors. I was kind of excited about it. I couldn’t decide what ink to use. Unforturnately, I am out of the fine, mulberry paper. I only have Arches 88, which is thick, but absorbent. I ended up deciding to try using my oil based relief inks with a lot of transparent medium. WELL. It did NOT print well at all! Here are the hideous prints:
See how blotchy the prints are? Here is a closeup:
Depressing, isn’t it? I’m not sure if I needed to sand the wood before printing, just to remove any possible residue on the surface, and to make the surface slightly rougher to accept the ink. Well, I didn’t do that. IF ANYONE OUT THERE IS A WOODCUT PRINTER, COULD YOU OFFER ANY SUGGESTIONS? I have now cleaned the block, and have put on a thin layer of shellac. I’m not sure if this will help. This is odd and frustrating, as I never had any problem in the past printing with those inks on wood. Granted, I typically use a shina plywood, not this solid piece of wood. Hmmm.
I also did another drypoint to print, hopefully on Thursday evening. It’s impossible to see, as it’s on plexiglass, but here it is:
The grainy white area is where I’ve added some pumice medium. I am hoping to get the carborundum effect here. I am also hoping that this medium doesn’t wash off when I try to print it! Seriously. As if it isn’t hard enough creating an image that one is happy with…then one has to contend with technical struggles. I know. Most printmakers get help with this in school. Well…I’m here with no one to ask! I may try to bring those ugly prints in to one of my classes, to see if the teachers can provide any insights.
Lastly, I am going to try to do a larger relief print. Who knows how it will turn out…I’ve only sketched on the surface…no carving yet:
On Saturday, I dropped off my two Regent Theater prints to the Arlington Center for the Arts, to submit them for an upcoming show. I asked the person who took them from me about the open studios in the fall. She said something to the effect of: “Oh, it would be great for you to participate. We need more printmakers. Do you know so-and-so?” Me? A printmaker! REALLY?!!! I know how silly this is, but it felt very good to be treated like I WAS something that I WISH I was. A printmaker. Coincidentally, I discovered that one of my teachers used to be a landscape architect in Paris. Seriously!
I also went to a printmaking exhibit at Laconia Gallery in Boston. The show is titled, ” Guanajuato: Boston Printmakers collaborative workshop in Mexico.” It was SO amazing. Beautiful, vibrant colors…tons of relief prints. All of the artists collaborated on a long, accordian fold book. They all worked within the pages in such a way that one could tell which artist did which parts, but the whole was still very integrated. I was also so lucky that one of the artists was there monitoring the gallery. She was so nice, and answered my multitude of questions.
It might just be Spring here…I don’t want to speak too soon, as it has snowed in April before…but I’m seeing little flowers coming up! YESSSSS!
Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, chine colle, collagraph, drypoint, Ink, printmaking, Prints, visual art
This week, we printed our carborundum collagraphs! Very exciting. Carborundum is a very fine grit, smaller than sand. You mix it with an acrylic medium, to create a grainy gel. Then, you put the grainy gel on your plate how you’d like. The grains will hold ink, so that wherever you put this gel is what will be inked on your plate. An added bonus to this process is that the carborundum is bumpy, and leaves a cool emboss on the paper. It also allows one to get very dense, saturated color. Here is how the two plates that I made looked on their own:
You can see the dense color on the print…this is where I applied carborundum to the plate. I have also included a close up, so that you might be able to see the textured emboss:
Okay, maybe that’s too hard to see. Here are other prints that I made with these plates:
So, I used black ink for these prints, but those black areas could be any color. Of course, now that the plates have been printed with black ink…it’s kind of hard to change that.
I also printed again with the drypoint plates that I made earler. You will likely recognize that from my previous posts where I used these drypoint plates:
another:
Then, I printed the two plates together, with no other layers of ink:
I liked how they turned out…generally. The two previous ones may be a bit “flat”, because of the textured/colorful background. Hmmm…comments? Perhaps they need some carborundum!
Here are two random prints with chine colle:
The first plate of the two began with a ghost print of the second print. (a ghost print is when you reprint a plate, without adding new ink).
I also made more solarplate prints. I was tired of using photographic images…they were a little flat, so I went back to directly marking on acetate to make the “negative” for these plates. Please forgive my color choices…as I mentioned in a previous post, there was a serious shortage of red. I know…that’s no excuse really. I’m not fond of the all green one, but I like the one with purple:
I like those, and so I’ll keep trying to print them, to see how I can improve the layering. Next time, I’m going to try to get the colors to be more transparent.
And…last but not least…I did another color scheme of the Regent theater print. I am going to submit this print with the other one to the local show. Yes, I’m not sure if the ink will totally be dry by tomorrow am! I wonder if I could speed up the drying with…a hairdryer? A tanning bed? Probably not.
What do you think? Thumbs up? Thumbs down? I like how this Regent one turned out…even thought it may look as if it should have been a screenprint!
Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, etching, printmaking, Prints, solar plate, Visual Arts
So, I had better luck this time printing with my new solarplates. In the past, I found that my images were really “flat” and boring. I think that layering the prints helps a bit. I went into the studio today, which is atypical, so this is why I have a fresh batch.
I may work on some of them more…I may make more plates Friday…who knows. We’re running low on red ink in the studio, so you may see my next prints with more cooler colors. I’m going to be in my “blue” period, much like Picasso, but because there is no red ink, much unlike Picasso.
(I should have cropped the picture above…)
A bit pale, right?
That one needs help too…
I like that one above…even though it’s not got much going on…
I also like that one…just drawings, no images…
I like this one too. It was the last one I did. I also dropped it on the floor, and had to try to remove the mark of my FOOTPRINT on the edge of it. I know. It was past noon, and I was feeling my low blood-sugar clumsy. I knew at that point that I should just clean up and call it a day.
Any comments? suggestions? Don’t tell me that I need more red, because it isn’t going to happen. 🙂
Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, chine colle, Ink, printmaking, Prints, Visual Arts
So, I’m getting ready to try to submit this print of the Regent Theater to the “Images of Arlington” show coming up. I’ve been experiementing with different papers and inks. The first prints look “blotchy” to me. I’m not sure if that’s my own hang up…or if that would be something that a real printmaker would also dislike. Hmmm. So, I switched inks and tried printing a new paper. Here it is:
I know…why bother? Well, I’m trying to improve my printing techniques, so that I don’t have to get as frustrated as I do. As you may notice, the colors are slightly different from the last printing, as I didn’t mix the colors EXACTLY the same. That might be a challenge for anyone, as the inks were different.
I also printed one with just the final block. Here it is:
Yes, this is on yet another type of paper. I may add watercolors to this one…or I may just leave it alone. I think that this could also look nice on colored paper. Or some chine colle! My new favorite technique…(refer to previous posts).
I’m also going to TRY to make another print of this, but in a different color palette. (did I spell that correctly?) I am slightly concerned that the ink won’t be dry by the time that I need to frame it and submit it. Maybe I can frame a print with wet/tacky ink? No? Bad printmaking etiquette? See! There is so much benefit to being a novice…we don’t know any better!
I went to the Boston Prinmaker’s Bienniale at the Danforth Museum this weekend. SO AMAZING. Seriously…anyone in the metro-Boston area should go. The work was so stunning. So much talent. I wanted to own all of the prints. There was also a student exhibition of prints, which was also phenomenal. Please go see it!
It did “fire me up” to go home and do stuff. However, I am somewhat blue that my stuff is so remedial in comparison to all of the work that I saw. I know…you’ve got to start somewhere…but it would have been so convenient to have been a “prodigy” at something, right? Instead of starting at the bottom, you start at the top! Oh well.
It has been lovely and sunny all day…which puts me in a good mood, even though I’m scowling at my prints. Has anyone else seen the printmaking show at the Danforth? Thoughts?
Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, chine colle, drypoint, Ink, Linoleum, printmaking, Prints, Visual Arts
So, I FINALLY finished carving the linoleum. I printed it! It turned out okay…I think that I’m going to try printing it again, to get the ink to not look as blotchy. This blotchy ink might be because: 1. I printed wet ink onto wet ink 2. of the type of ink that i used 3. I had large expanses of uncarved areas. If anyone out there is an experienced linoleum block printer…PLEASE give me some feedback! Any helpful suggestions for printing would be SO helpful. So here is the print:
Not bad…needs some work. I am also going to try printing it on different paper. I need to get more of that paper, though, so I’ll be heading to Utrecht at some point.
I also did a drypoint as well. I really like drypoint now. I didn’t at first. I’m not sure why I like it again. Perhaps because it is somewhat similar to just drawing. I am looking forward to layering my drypoints. The first print is the drypoint as is:
I know…boring/blech…I added chine colle, and it’s much better:
The blotches on the print are actually shadows from stuff on our windows. Yes, we need our windows washed, but it needs to get above freezing first. This morning, it was 17 degrees. Brrr. I’ll have to come up with a new excuse in the summer why I still can’t wash the windows. Right now, the temperature outside is to blame.
I made four solarplates, to be printed next week. I also made two carborundum collagraphs. This is a kind of sandy grit that you put onto a plate with acrylic medium. When it’s dry, you can ink the plate and the grit will hold ink. So, instead of etching texture into a plate, I’m adding it on the surface. Here are the plates:
I know. Hard to see because of the clear plate. Here is another one made on foamcore:
This should be neat. I’ll print it next week, and hopefully post the images. Unless, of course, they’re horrendous. Actually, I generally would post that anyway!
We did a group crit at one of my printmaking classes. It was the first time that I’ve had actual printmakers look at my work. It was great to hear their comments and feedback. As I’m a complete amateur, I don’t have an overall aesthetic to my work…so it’s kind of chaotic. My printmaking teacher used the word, “exuberant”, instead of chaotic. Perhaps I’ll stick with that for now.
Filed under: printmaking | Tags: art, drypoint, Linocut, monotype, printmaking, Visual Arts
I’m still working away on my larger linocut. I am enjoying this much more than the first time. I may not feel the same way after I try to PRINT this, but at the moment, I am having a better time. Again, I think that this is because I am using a nicer linoleum than I was before. Or else, it’s because I’m refreshed after a weekend away. Yes…I went up to Maine with a bunch of girlfriends SANS ENFANTS! Ahhh…we had a great time. It felt great and odd not to have a three-year old leaping all over me. Naturally, I came home and expected a hug right away, so that previous desire was short lived. So, here’s the linocut:
I know. It’s hard to tell what’s going on. I hope that will improve when I print it. I also worked on a new drypoint plate. Here it is:
Yes, this is also hard to see. So, this post is mostly about my sloth-like pace in making progress. Things are slow here. I’m plodding along…the basement workspace is also creeping along…The good news is that we have the building materials we were waiting for in the basement. The bad news is…well…that it’s all still in boxes. This is no surprise to me. I’m not complaining. I keep hoping that the basement elves will take care of this soon. Maybe they have some kind of union, and are on strike right now. Or, maybe they’re hibernating.
So, I have to go to a parking hearing on Thursday. I dread this. I received a parking ticket for having my car parked in my driveway. Apparently, it was interfering with snow removal. Really? I didn’t realize that the town was planning on clearing my driveway too. Lucky me! If I lose this argument, there really is no justice in this world. Wish me luck.
I have a hideous print to show. It’s sort of a cartoonish house. So awful. A large part of me wonders WHY I even am going to show this. I somehow feel compelled to reveal the ugly truth of this printmaking process…some stuff is just plain awful. Nothing ventured…nothing gained…perhaps my publishing this image is similar to looking at a train wreck…it’s awful, but you can’t help yourself from staring…
Notice how small this image is…not by accident. It might look better as a postage stamp. Or, as my son says, “more better”. I think that this emphasis is valid, when I consider how I’d like this print to shrink down to nothingness.
I missed a printmaking class last week, as my son was sick. Let’s hope that this doesn’t happen again this week, both for his sake and mine! I have to play the odds, and produce enough prints that one or two, on occasion, may be okay. I also have to recover from the aforementioned house print, or else this is going to be both a slow week, and an uninspiring one! (insert sad trombone sound here…) 🙂
slightly wonky 
