That time I printed (Two Saturdays ago)

Wooo pictures! I did a little bit of etching and a little bit of monotype. I'm used to getting a lot done, so this trip seemed a little slow, but I did produce thirteen prints in less than six hours.

Mmmm ink

Mmmm inked and stenciled plates

Mmmm finished product

My new goal is to go in super prepared and spend all my time on one print, producing a large edition. My brain has atrophied from the boredom of my job, so all I've been able to do is monotype. Although, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Monotype is a great way to experiment and improvise.

I will be printing tomorrow!

IAC Printmaking/Ceramic Student Show Summer 2009

This is my alcove at the student show. It pulls from the previous post. And this:


See all the Polaroids behind the organ? In the house I lived in my last year of college, we had The Polaroid Room. The first time anybody came into the house, we took a Polaroid of them, had them write whatever they wanted to on it, then let them put it wherever they wanted in that room.

Over the course of three Fridays (20-24 hours combined) I printed 101 Polaroid size monotypes. Seventy-seven of them are hanging in the alcove. They were printed using one to three process colors (Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow). There is a small single-color series within that uses a mix burnt sienna and copper bronze. Also, there are a few etching thrown in. I am a little conflicted about using etchings at this size. When I think Polaroid, I think quick, one of a kind. While the image for an etching can be quick, the process is not. Plus, who makes an etching to print only once? Not me.

I really like monotype because it is quick, and while it requires thinking at the time of printing, it requires little planning, unless you're going to use fabric stencils, like I did. Then, you'll need to know enough ahead of time to buy fabric. This process suited me well this summer. I've been out of printmaking for two years, and I had an almost manic need to produce a lot of work. However, I'm also suffering from a penetrating boredom, so thinking of stuff to really work on has been slow to start.

A bit about the hanging. If I can avoid it, I try not to frame. It's part laziness, part contrariness,
and part novelty. In this case, it was also necessity. Imagine framing seventy-seven tiny prints. Also, the idea really comes from The Polaroid Room, so it made sense to randomly scatter them through the alcove. However, a wave started to develop with the darkest prints, so I sacked the random, and built around the wave.

I appreciate thoughts on improvements.

I'm starting with this piece because it is where I've been going with my work this summer. It's a three-color monotype. I build everything out of process colors. I start with yellow, move on to magenta, and then cyan. The dots are created from hole-punch holes scattered randomly between the inked plate and the paper. There are places where the dots overlapped on each run through the press and you can see paper. I'm really interested in the way process colors build off each other.

This piece was done in Spring of 2007 for a guy who approached my graphic design class to do a CD cover for his instrumental, life-changing, world altering album. He didn't dig this. He dug a picture of a tree with fetus-fruit.

Hi there

I was just asked if I have a website. I don't...yet. This is to hold me over. Look for artwork soon.