learn printmaking

i tried an appropriation of a pic from alice, for a hens’ night hat party invitation. i want to retry it, leave a little more space on the table for another hen, and i also want to try changing the depths of pressure i use for more variation in line.

tonight our class tried out drypoint etching, and i loved it, BADLY. i just wish i could somehow drag that massive press (essential tool!) out of there and into my house without anyone noticing.

i chose to draw from a sketch i’d made for work which ended up working pretty well. most people in the class worked from photographs. One worked from a pic of a moth, which turned out fantastic – etching really picks up fine lines, so images with hair and feathers are perfect.

i had my first relief printing (woodcut) class tonight, and it was great. i was the youngest there among a small group of not-so-creative and desperately-seeking-an-interest looking women (no, i am not judgmental!) but it seems you don’t require any kind of drawing, or even artistic, experience to produce something beautiful. you only need some basic lines. the simple process of transferring paint from wood to paper is enough beauty to get you by.

you need very little materials; scraper etching tools, wood, paint, roller, glass sheet, baren (handheld burnishing tool) and paper… and once you have your design started, you can really pump the prints out. we tried layering a number of colours, while carving more of the image out between prints.

can’t wait for next week.

Yeah yeah. Ok.

lots and lots of intaglio. a few aquatints. My lungs are dying.

So I’ve printed two intaglio plates by myself. Does this count?
Maybe I should finish the assignment and learn aquatint before checking off this goal.
Intaglio was what I had in mind when I made this goal though.

In other news; Colon Cleanse tastes fucking horrible.

I’ll be printing my first plate on Monday.