Archive for the 'paper' Category
strata in black by elvia perrin
mountain by karine leger
limited edition print by jessica lucas
Details, lines, paper, and whites….these things are my inspirations as of late. The works above have captured this beautifully. Click the images to see more work by these incredible artists.
I recently started a new series that went on display at the beginning of this month at Ozark Natural Foods in Fayetteville, entitled “mend”. Since then, I’ve realized that this series isn’t over. It’s not even close. At this point, it seems like it may last forever….or at the very least, another year or so.
Above are just a few of the new pieces that I’ve been working on for my show that runs from March through April at Northwest Arkansas Community College. These are still in progress, but I like the direction they’re taking.
Having been a printmaker for quite some time now, I find myself floundering in conversations trying to explain a very long process in two sentences or less on what printmaking actually is…or how I achieved/printed a particular piece. It’s a relatively easy process (and I use that term lightly), but it requires many steps – each being critical to the end result. So recently I decided to document one of my prints step by step in order to answer some of these questions and to merely to enlighten those of you who might not want to ask, but are curious how an etching is made.
I should note too that I am a very untraditional in my approaches with a very traditional method. Though I was trained and have a degree in printmaking….I still just make things up as I go along. I’m not one to sew with a pattern, cook by a recipe, hold my paintbrush just right….nor do I print by the rules.
There are a variety of papers you can use when printing. I encourage anyone to experiment, but I've landed on Fabriano Rosapina (sounds fancy, but I just order it from Dick Blick). It's thick, versatile, and tears beautifully. Printmaking paper can be pricey and is typically made of cotton. You should tear your paper to 1.) show off it's beauty and texture and 2.) to fit the size of your print. I typically leave an inch or so around the top, left, and right....and then two or so inches for the bottom to leave room for the title, edition number, and signature.
After you've torn all of your paper, you will place it in a tub of water to soak. I know that this seems crazy....but it's critical. Printing papers are strong. They contain many fibers that need to be loosened in order to pick up all of the details of the print you're about to run. You can soak your paper anywhere from 3 minutes - an hour{ish}.
After documenting this, I realized that I entirely left out the part of how to prepare your plate, etch it, and so forth. I'll do that soon in another post! To continue where we're at though...here is a photo of a plate that is covered in black hard ground (a miraculous printing compound that resists acid), and has already been etched in acid. Now it's time to remove the black hard ground with mineral spirits and a toothbrush. This takes a small bit of scrubbing, but you need to do so without being too abrasive with your plate of metal. You don't want to cause any scratches because then it will leave a mark and therefore show up on your print!
After removing the hard ground, I usually take my prints over to my backyard faucet to remove the excess mineral spirits and to do a general cleaning of the plates. At this point we're ready to go back inside and begin inking!
In order to keep this brief and less boring…I will be breaking this down into 3 posts. Check back tomorrow for Part II, inking your plate!
a hand printed zine.
no.1
no.2
my new geometric notecards! i have to say that these were a blast to make. i watercolored directly onto the cards to make a one of a kind gift.
Happy Monday!
a new etching {with watercolor}.
some new found inspiration.
lovely etchings {and mixed media prints} by colleen kinsella of portland, maine.
a new etching with a coffee stained deer and thread. i like this direction.
another invitation! one of my favorites so far.
i made this over the summer in search of finding something to do. i think it turned out nice.
i recently designed these halloween cards. super cute and available for purchase in my shop!
this is rather addictive, expect more to come!
{a play on words}
this doily has a story. but i’m not sure if you’ll ever know it. regardless, its not important. but isnt it super cute and tiny?
{dont feel left out. no one really knows the story but me.}
one of my newest etchings. i am quite fond of this piece because of the time and energy that it took to make it. I colored the children’s clothing with chine colle paper….5 pieces to be exact and then editioned it to 10! I have been holding out on showing this until the right moment….which i guess is now? hm
a recent linoleum cut. a play on relation{ships}.
here is a drawing I completed several months ago. thanks to my husband introducing me to this about 5 years ago, I now appreciate and prefer the delicious taste of french press coffee.
OH, and if you haven’t noticed. I now have a “shop” tab here on my webpage.
for some reason a plastic water bottle seemed fitting for this weeks topic {artificial}. I’ve always thought that there was something ironic about purchasing water in a bottle…especially ones that say things such as “pure”, “natural”, “spring water”…and so forth. what are your thoughts?
I recently fell in love with photograms and the capability to create delicate lines and features with shadows. Here is one of my favorites. Available for purchase at my new ETSY shop!
a new collagraph series i recently completed. after these were printed (and dried), i watercolored onto them and sewed onto a few.
{one of these is on its way to the UK right now!}
another artist whom you should meet. nicole pietrantoni. shes a phenomenal artist working in fibers, printmedia, videos and plenty of other mediums. her work is like the music of tom waits {if that makes any sense}.
the enjoyably tedious process
this is the back of the book. i pasted most of the pieces back together that i had cut from the book to recreate the church.
i recently participated in the art house coop‘s sketchbook project and this was my entry. heres how it worked, i signed up to participate, they mailed me a moleskine sketchbook with my name and a bar code printed in it, and a topic. i was then to fill up this sketchbook with anything pertaining to this said topic. after receiving everyone’s sketchbook, they will collectively be placed into a library that acts as an exhibition. this exhibition will then travel to various galleries across the nation allowing people to participate and “check” the books out for a short time so that they may be handled and viewed.
my topic was “the end of the world”. after much brain-work, i decided to not add to my sketchbook, but to instead take away from it. this to me encompasses the world’s end because things will no longer be added, but subtracted from existence. I also chose to do a church building dimensioning with each turn of a page further alluding to the world’s disintegration as well as the heavy implications of the church and people using it in a time of distress and need (like for instance….the end of the world).
unfortunately, this is a permanent collection and i will never get this book back. i hope to catch one of the exhibitions so i can see it in its intended context.