Experimental Printmaking - Phase III

The last phase involved carving details into the images on the plates, which up until this point had been silhouettes (which I love the look of and will do more in the future). After the final carving, I reassembled the blocks in order and printed it.









Cutting the plates to 6" by 8" with the use of a table saw took off an eighth of an inch from all sides. Butted together, the design was slightly distorted. So for the next print, I spaced them to compensate for this.












For this next print, I randomly placed the plates down on the press bed.











And for the final print, I chose to print it in alternating colors.





I loved this project! My professor was unsure of my project all semester because there were many challenges along the way. In the end he said that he was quite impressed with what I had done!
Lessons I have learned:
1. If I want to print a large carved piece, I should use linoleum instead.
2. Carving tools must be kept sharp. I had so much trouble carving in Phase III because I was using dull tools. We tried to sharpen them, but I think it was too late!
3. Masonite isn't absorbent so at times it was difficult to roll the ink on the plate. I had some problems with the various inks, but I don't believe I figured out exactly what the causes were.

I have ordered some linoleum blocks and several types of linoleum and woodcarving tools, as well as a sharpening stone from Dick Blick. The order should be arriving this week. I look forward to using the blocks from this project incorporated with future designs.

Experimental Printmaking - Phase II

I would have loved to continue printing with this large block, but I had a deadline and two additional phases, so moved on to the next phase. Since the board was 18" by 24", I had it cut into 9 equal 6" by 8" plates.

My intention was to overlap the designs with transparent layers of ink. It took several brands and types of inks to find one that worked well. It was difficult to get transparency with the water-based block printing inks and even the water-based etching inks I was using wasn't creating the transparency I was looking for. I bought a sampler kit of Faust Aqua-Line inks. These are lovely, creamy inks that I was introduced to in a Silk Aquatint class I took at Creative Arts Workshop in New Haven, CT. Mixing the colors with the transparent medium finally gave me what I was looking for. I experimented with hand printing, using the press at school and with the small hand press I have at home (which I bought from Jerry's Artarama) and with different types of papers, including some of my handmade paper.
Here are a few samples:

Experimental Printmaking - Phase I

This past semester, continuing with my printmaking studies, I took a class entitled Experimental Printmaking. It was up to me to decide what I wanted to do. The following photos are a summary of the project.

I wanted to make a large woodblock print that I could print from and later cut into smaller sized blocks and print from again. So the design had to be such that each of the blocks could be stand alone, though become somewhat abstract because of this. My design idea was the Tree of Life often depicted in old textiles. I created a design that had elements modeled after Jacobean embroidery and other textile samples that I have.

I wanted the block to be 18" x 24", so the first decision was finding a wood that would be suitable and available in this size. My options were few. I experimented with carving birch plywood and 1/4" Masonite boards. I decided to use the Masonite.

Carving was not difficult in the beginning. I realize now that it is because my tools were sharp.







After spending almost two months carving the design, I was only a little more than half way done. I decided to use a dremil to help speed things up. This turned out to be a learning experience because each type of tool made very different types of marks.


The left side is hand carved and the right side is Dremil carved.

I went back over the Dremiled areas with the hand tools to make a more uniform design.

Now that I was satisfied with the carving, I printed
several two-color prints.

This completed Phase I on this printmaking project.

Prints for a Print Exchange

I am organizing a Print Exchange. This session's theme is Black and White. The hardest part for me, usually, is settling on a design. I have so many ideas that it is hard to settle on just one! Was looking at old manuscripts of Persian gardens and saw one that had pomegranate trees in fruit. I love the shape of pomegranates, so decided to use this in my design. I am also working with traditional textile designs in my artwork, so incorporated some made up paisleys for this.

print on gampi paper that I made this summer















The lino block


The drawing



Printing on various papers








creating a layered design

Combat Papermakers

Paper Recycling

Did you know that it takes 70% less energy to produce a ton of paper from recycled paper than from trees?

Papermaking Summer 2009

Spent as much time as I could between the other happenings to make paper this summer. I wanted to use pulps I had cooked and frozen over the past few years, but I also really wanted to try beating linen and cotton cloth in my Lander beater. I made one batch of beaten linen from 4 old linen tea towels. I also made pulp from a yellow cotton tablecloth. After speaking with someone at Carriage House Paper in Brooklyn, NY I decided to beat some abaca to ad to the cotton pulp to make a stronger paper for printmaking. So I had 3 pounds of pulp and other pulp that I had taken out of the freezer to use up.

It was great! Last year Bob added two windows to our old potting/tool shed and installed electricity so that I could use it as my papermaking studio. It was a great way to make the best of the hot, humid days we had in early August. Keeping my hands in the cool water helped a lot to keep me refreshed. Plus I love the meditative process of papermaking. I love that I have a flow. It took a few years to master my moves and now it comes so naturally.

Here are some videos and photos taken during the course of the summer:

This video is the beating of a yellow cotton tablecloth:





The finished pulp - ready to use!










cotton and abaca sheets of paper.






















This is the linen towels being beaten. You can see the fibers starting to separate.

Here is a condensed version of pulling sheets of gampi fiber. I used formation aid which slowed down the draining process, so cut all that footage out.





My homemade paper press in action.

The Importance of Memories?

Since I am spending time with Grandma, I am remembering once again the stories she told me over and over about her life growing up. Once again I am thinking that I should write them down so that they will be preserved. The same thing with the photos I have that were hers, Uncle Mickey's and Mom's. I think I should put them into albums and write notes about who the people in the photos are. I intend to one day take a pictorial inventory of the things I have inherited and put these in an album with labels explaining the stories behind them.

But now I am wondering if I did this, would it matter to my children or to my nieces and nephews? Will they want to know these stories? Will they want to know about these people?

I was in an antique store yesterday and saw boxes of old photos for 25 cents each. Old photos of family members that no one remembers. This is where they wind up.

So I wonder who the preserving of memories is for? Even the photo albums my mother spent the last year and a half of her life creating, are being stored in boxes in my brother's garage!
Should I do it for the future generations or for myself? What about the stories of my own childhood spent with my brothers, cousins and friends? Are we the only ones who care to hear them?

I don't know. I do know that my life is full of thoughts and activities pertaining to the present and to the future. I don't want to take the time right now to organize the past.

These are my thoughts at the moment. We'll see how and when they will change.

I appreciate any thoughts you may have with regard to this post.

Susan