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.
Finally….I’ve had a sudden burst of inspiration. I love when this happens. It seems to be the best side of me and I don’t want to leave the studio when it happens. I have three shows just around the corner and I have been worried that I wouldn’t have anything new. As usual though, if I have a little pressure and a deadline approaching, I perform at my best. Here are the dates and locations of my upcoming shows:
I have a reception on February 4th from 10-noon at Ozark Natural Foods
March-April my work will be on display at NWACC (location TBA)
July is my large show with John L. Newman of The University of Arkansas at the Arts Center of the Ozarks.
Here is the last part of my “printing a plate” series. In this post I’ll touch on how to actually print after you have prepared your paper and inked your plate.
If you’re interested in starting from the beginning, you can back track here:
After the plate has been inked, it's safe to lay it down onto the press bed. This is a great time to mention registration. This is simply a term used to describe how you get your paper and your plate to line up when you're printing. If you are printing a large run (lots of prints), then this is critical. The way I make a registration is by simply laying down my printing paper onto newsprint. I then trace the corners of it (seen above) with pencil. I then do the same with my plate. Now I have a pretty good idea where I am going to lay my plate and paper every time I print.
Now it's time to take your paper out of the water. Carefully remove one piece from it's bath and place it on a clean towel. Now, lightly press another towel on top in order to remove excess water.
Carefully line up your sheet of paper with your registration marks and lay it on top of your plate (your plate should be facing up). Once you have it lined up, you will lay another sheet of newsprint on top of the paper.
There is such a thing as a press blanket. Mine is used and messy, but it still gets the job done. A press blanket helps to protect the paper while pressing firmly on your plate. And will need to be the last thing you add to your stack. At this point in the process too, you may realize that your press needs to be loosened or tightened depending on how easy it is to turn. This is something you will merely need to experiment with and once again train yourself on what "feels right".
Once you turn the press all the way....you can check your paper to see your print! By carefully lifting one corner, but not removing the paper entirely, you can see if your print meets your standards. If it's too light, simply lay it back down and roll it through one more time. If it's too dark, or your paper tore, you will need to loosen your press and try again!
Voila! Print number 1. In order to create an edition you will need to take your plate back over to your inking area, and reapply ink. It's not necessary to clean your plate between prints.
After seeing my print for the first time I noticed a few spots where the lines were weak or lighter in some areas. So in this case, I took my steel-tipped tool and drew onto my plate in those areas. Remember, there aren't hard fast rules to printmaking. You're in charge of your print and therefore can make artistic decisions based on your own judgement.
After a print is complete, it needs to dry. I set mine on a wooden, clothes drying rack so that air can reach all parts of the paper to dry it evenly. The only problem with this method is that they don't dry flat. I typically rotate them around trying to be conscious of the indentions that are being made. Ultimately though, I will put them between two heavy books in order for them to flatten entirely.
Lastly, there's the cleanup. Before you begin, you should try to save as much ink as you can. You can either put it back into the container, or wrap it up in saran wrap. Ink is typically $15-$20 a can, so learning to be frugal with it is essential. Cleaning up your printmaking area is a pain in the rear. You're left with a huge oily, ink mess that stains virtually everything. By using simple household, vegetable oil you can clean up your work mess with relative ease. Simply drop a quarter sized spot into the area you're cleaning and begin wiping it with phone book paper. Continue this process until your table is almost clean. Then spritz the area with a mixture of rubbing alcohol and water. This will eleviate the rest of your mess. Use these materials to clean your tools as well. To clean your plate, I simply go back to the mineral spirits and toothbrush for easy ink removal. If you don't remove the ink from your plate it can dry and harden making it extremely difficult to clean, especially without damaging it.
Whew….welp. There you have it. The basics of printing a hand pulled etching. I will eventually document my non-toxic etching process that will explain how I got my plate to have a design on it. I hope that after reading this you might have a greater understanding and appreciation of printmaking. There are a variety ways to print, this is simply one. Let the next printmaker you meet know that you get what they’re doing….and that the piece of paper they’re asking $50 for is well worth it!
So yesterday I touched on the importance of the paper you choose to print on + experimenting. Also, I mentioned how to clean hard ground off of your plate. Now, the fun and challenging part of inking your plate begins!
To begin, I use a combination of equal parts Easy Wipe Compound and etching ink. Easy Wipe is an additive that is optional. I use it to soften up my ink so that it "wipes easier". It causes it to be smoother and doesn't affect your ink color at all. If you ever begin printing (or already do), you'll quickly realize that applying ink to your plate is a tedious and messy process that you can use a little slack wherever you can get it! For me, it's Easy Wipe.
I mix my Easy Wipe and ink into a creamy, delicious medium that is about the consistency of a smooth cake icing. Slightly thick, but very elastic.
Now comes the fun part of getting your plate dirty. At this point you will need to put your gloves on and grab a small square of left over mat board (I have a basket of these pre cut pieces on hand...you're going to need a lot). I generally scoop up a small amount as seen above to begin the application.
Now you should begin to liberally apply your ink while moving your mat board applicator in all directions. At this point you are pushing ink into your small etched lines. I try not to be gloppy at this stage (or any for that matter)....but you don't need to be shy about putting the ink all over your precious plate.
Here is what my plate generally looks like after I'm done applying the ink.
I have some very old cheese cloth that I reuse to remove the excess ink. This stage is critical to a good print. You are not rubbing the ink off like you would scrub your bathroom floors (if you do that sort of thing)...You are merely pressing and slightly spinning the cheese cloth (by turning your wrist) in order to see your image again.
After the cheese cloth.
This next step was hard to document since I had my messy gloves on. But In order to get to this point, I tore a piece of phone book paper and without wadding it up or wrinkling it, I simultaneously rubbed and pushed on the plate with the paper. This removed even more of the ink and pushed it into the small crevices and delicate lines. I know that it looks like I simply just wiped ALL the ink off, but you'll see that once it's printed, there is still plenty of ink left on it. This step is an acquired skill. You will simply need to print and screw up {several times} before you get into a rhythm and train your eyes and hands to know when you need to stop.
Now we’re ready to begin printing! Within the next few days I’ll be posting Part III, hand-pulled prints.
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!
an original drawing on a book page by Olivia Jeffries
talking at night by Megan Chapman
vacant home by Franca Garrels
Lodgepole, Whitebark, Aspen and Wolf Etching by Julia Lucey
Four artists whose work has recently inspired me to start a new print series. These women have incredible works of art that require a beautiful eye for design, intricate details, and color. I am constantly observing the works of others and plan to continue to show you the works of the artists that inspire me.
The ladies and the owls.
shoppers!
My neighboring booth and friends from Brainstorm screen prints.
Let's Be Friends - an incredible collection of goods!
Ezzie, no enemy to ANY dance floor.
You too can be a Mer-Jack!
The lovely Raine with the knit balls by Knitta Please
And last but certainly not least...my excellent companion, friend, and all around badass.
Hey everyone! We just got back from the Austin Renegade Holiday Sale from this past weekend and it rocked our socks off! We saw so many incredible vendors with extraordinary talent, along with a plethora of hipsters, a Mer-Jack, chicken tattoos, plenty of beer, and knit balls, by Knitta Please (I LOVE their name)! I tweeted a few more pictures that you can see here if you haven’t had enough! 
i recently found an image of what was described as “ice yachting”. I was intrigued, so i created two prints from my perspective of the sport. enjoy!
a hand printed zine.
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.
{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}.
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}.
a small zinc plate that I plan to run a large edition of. large meaning probably 25 or so. you will soon discover that I have gone doilie crazy.
jen corace
jeff depner
found these today…thought id share some beauty.
have a lovely day!
i re-printed these from an etch i did a year ago. i added some color; i think they turned out pretty nice.
this is where i like to be…
another new print. again, this is an intaglio etching with chine colle. im sending images of three of my prints (including this one) off today to a gallery in Louisiana for an upcoming exhibition. cross your fingers that my work is accepted!
sorry it has been soo long since i have posted last. life has been….well…just busy. i have been pumping out some prints though, so i hope to get them up here as quickly as i possibly can!! i hope everyone is doing well.
this is an intaglio (aquatint and chine colle).
probably should have posted this a little sooner. but, my work is currently on display (along with several other amazing printers in our area) at Fayetteville Underground. its a new gallery in our area, and is actually in its early stages of development. The area is stunningly beautiful in a renovated building on the downtown square. I encourage anyone in the area to check it out. unfortunately the reception was thursday, but the show will be up through april!
