The second project in printmaking is relief printing. We had to do two linoleum carvings.

The first project we could only use black ink, and the purpose was to show a sense of light.

I chose to do an image of my sister Megan and I that had great lighting.

 I used carbon paper to transfer the outline of the areas I wanted to cut away onto the linoleum.
Our faces reminded me of two glowing moons in this early stage!

I did some more detail for a mix of marks and gradation on Megan's face. I used all little horizontal marks for her face.

I tried running the linoleum through the press a second time without applying more ink and I like the grey tone

More marks, I used all small vertical marks on myself

One of my final prints - I had a lot!

I waxed some of them... makes light go through them, although this paper is pretty thick. However you DON'T want to to keep this out in sun because the wax can melt 

I waxed this final print as well.. it is a thinner paper with threads

Printmaking: Copper Plate #2

One of the hardest things about printing is that it is often unpredictable. It is not nearly as controllable as many mediums and hours of work can go to waste. 

For our second copper plate etching project we had to use a photopolymer layer as a ground. By placing objects on the plate with the layer and shooting intense UV light down on the plate, the 'shadows' of the objects are left. I chose a multitude of pebble I found on campus.

Sketch #1 
This first proof has a sketch on it of what I could potentially add to the print. It looks sorta like outer space to me

Sketch #2
This was meant to look like lava: where the rock once originated

Sketch #3
This segmentation made me think of a conglomerate rock 

I used melted crisco to get this splattered affect.. unfortunately despite hours of work the rocks got almost completely lost

I added a bit of turquoise to this print.. and a wash to try and make the rocks show up a bit more

Printmaking .. The Beginning

I feel like it is best suited to say I survived printmaking with my sanity! No, it was an awesome course and I am beyond happy to have learned what I did and gained the skills I now have. It is a class that requires hours upon hours of work in the studio however and much of it feels not artistically challenging but simply grueling.

I will do a couple of posts of the different types of prints we made.

To orient everyone with the print shop and the printing press the first week we simply did ink transfer print. Laser prints or photocopies have ink that can transfer. We applied wintergreen oil to these images we chose and ran them through the press on paper to come up with simple locker designs.

Our first project was etching 2 copper plates. My first was of a mountain scene with textures that were meant to appear like multi-faceted rocks. I guess somewhat illustrative..

I had around 10 prints of this image

Proof 1 
Simple line work to get the basic outlines

Proof 2
Gradation added for depth

Proof 3
More line work detail was done. My plate had been oxidizing so it foul bit (the acid attacked it) but I think the mistake added much more depth to the image.. one side of the mountain looks so much more in shadows.

One of my chosen favorites. It looks somewhat like an old photograph

We use the middle printing press

The Mordant room... eye and hand protection is needed in here because we work with acid to bite the plate and a strong base to remove any ground we apply

Working on my image in the beginning

My first sketch on the plate before I did any line work

Spring

At the end of last semester I created a design for the UMaine Geological Society which I am a part of. This is the resulting glassware that was made and sold. I bought some for myself and my family as Christmas presents! 

I love that you can move when using the panorama effect on a camera to get multiple-yous!

I had two pieces in the Student Art Exhibition this spring. The above was done in Painting 1 last semester, a somewhat abstract landscape of Indian Paintbrushes, my favorite flower

This drawing of Jackson was one of the artworks selected by the Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences to hang in Stevens Hall for the entire next academic year! It is a conte drawing of Jackson crouching and it is titled "Desolation". The title got mixed up with on of my other drawings that didn't get in, so next to this it said "Glacier Pond Reflections" in pastel :)

I get around campus most of the year on the longboard, it's fast and super fun! When I have free time, I love to go on adventures, especially on the great bike trails on campus. Lately it has been so beautiful - 60's - 70's and sunny!

I am about to start finals week, then I am home for the summer! I look forward to posting more of what I have done this semester then!!