Photopolymer intaglio with chine colle’ and watercolor created for “Score/2012″; the 20th anniversary portfolio for The Printmakers Network of Southern New England. Printed on 12″ X 20″ Hahnemhule Copperplate with Akua ink in an edition of 30. Image size: 7″ X 15″

I was happy with the image in just the blue/black ink but there was so much going on in the piece that I felt it needed more of a focal point. I decided to use the technique of chine colle to introduce color. Digging around in my paper drawer, I found the perfect sheet of thin tan paper. I wanted to bring out the area around the bird so I traced the box shape  and cut out a corresponding shape from the tan paper.

I applied paste to the back of the cut out shape and placed it in position on the inked plate. Once the printing paper is laid over the plates and run through the press, the pressure adheres the chine colle paper to the printing paper.

The results were mixed; it printed well, I liked the addition of color, but didn’t like how the bird was lost. I tried it again but this time, when I cut out the box shape, I also cut an opening where the bird would be.

This was much better but now I felt there needed to be a hint of color on the smaller plate. I decided to add chine colle to one of the bird skeletons but didn’t like how it brought the skeleton into the foreground.

Trial and error is what proofing is all about but now I had too many options to choose from. One of the drawbacks of working alone in a home studio is that you can’t bounce ideas off of colleagues. Sometimes, good constructive feedback is just what is needed to bring clarity to a situation. Such was the case here. I decided to get some critical reaction from a trusted source; my very talented, educator extraordinaire daughter. Thanks to the wonders of technology, I quickly snapped a few photos of my proofs and emailed them to Boston. A few minutes later I received a phone call and my daughter and I were happily “talking shop”.

We agreed that the box color worked well and provided the necessary focal point in an otherwise busy composition. We agreed that a hint of color on the small plate was a good design choice; but not necessarily on the skeleton. I the end, I decided to highlight the wishbones and the bones in the upper right corner, with a touch of watercolor. These two small accents of color played well off of the larger area of color around the bird and made for a more  cohesive dialogue between the two plates.

So here I am, ready to edition. 28 is a good number of prints to produce, especially when adding chine colle and hand coloring, but I’m pleased with the image and if all goes well should have this project completed in a week or so.

From Here to God    (Photopolymer intaglio with chine colle and watercolor)

The larger plate is not to my liking. This plate is ImagOn film on plexiglass. The detail is not as clear, especially around the bird’s head. If I go with the ImagOn, I may need to do some additional exposure tests. Also, I was thinking that I would first print a background plate in a pale color with a detailed plate superimposed over it. As you can see, the pale blue plate printed well and looks fairly light. However, when I printed the second plate over the light blue print, a lot of detail was lost and hidden in the color. If I do decide to use a colored plate, I’ll try adding some transparent base to the blue so it’s more of a wash.

Moving on, I decided to expose the larger negative to a Solarplate. After proofing it and being satisfied with the detail, I inked both plates in a deep blue-black and printed them together, as I had originally intended. I was happy with the image so I think I’ll step back for a while before proceeding. I need to rethink adding a color plate since I like the impact of the single color. Since I inadvertently printed the smaller plate upside down (something I need to avoid when editioning begins) I’ll pull another proof in the correct orientation then clean up and take a fresh look in the morning.

The portfolio will be titled Score/2012 and produced in an edition of 28. There are many ways to interpret the portfolio’s theme. Obviously, “score” can represent a set or group of 20, a large amount or number of something, a notch or line cut or scratched into a surface, a running amount kept by marks, a rating or grade, a music score, or informally, the state of affairs about the present situation. Since 20 years have elapsed since PNSNE was first organized, I’m playing around with the idea of the passage of time; something that has been on my mind now that I’m a “woman of a certain age”.

I have sketches and images from an unresolved idea that I hope to finally bring to fruition for this project. After scanning my photographs and drawings I pulled everything together using PhotoShop. Since I planned on using both ImagOn and Solarplates, the first order of business was to determine the correct exposure time for my negatives; takes a little experimenting but is well worth the time. The photo to the right shows the negatives I’ll be using, two small test Solarplates and their corresponding proofs. Once I had a general idea of exposure times, I went on to create an ImagOn test plate.

Next to my NuArc exposure unit, I have a dedicated area for adhering film. It consists of a heavy sheet of plate glass mounted on a raised “shelf”. Beneath the shelf is a tray for the soda ash bath. A sheet of opaque black plastic is draped under the glass and over the shelf to prevent light from reaching the plate as it develops.

This works well for me because I can easily adhere the film to the plate, trim the edges, dry it with a heat gun and slip it into the exposure unit. Once exposed, I pull out the tray, slip the plate into the bath, slide the tray back under the shelf and drop the black plastic into place. After nine minutes, the plate is pulled from the soda ash and rinsed in the nearby sink. Everything I need for plate making is all in one place.

I ended up with a few plates ready to proof. I want to compare the Solarplate print to that of the ImagOn before deciding how to proceed with this piece. For now though, it’s time to pull some proofs.

Even though other obligations had demanded my focus at the beginning of the year, I couldn’t avoid thinking about my studio projects. I reminded myself that there were time demands and deadlines and as much as I would love to do everything that comes across my drawing board, I needed to be realistic and select projects that were the most time sensitive; hence the need to overcome my feeling of inertia and get back to work.

Even though I have an edition of 28 prints due June 1st for a group portfolio and two new prints for an upcoming show, I decided to use the day to create a print for the 2012 “Leftovers III” print exchange. It’s a small edition of 14 prints measuring 5″ x 7″ and I knew I could finish it in a day. This gave me that sense of accomplishment that I needed to get rolling again.  

By noon, I had completed an edition of 14  photopolymer intaglio prints with embossing. Once they’re dry I’ll send them on their way to Wingtip Press. Best of all, I now have some momentum going and another project ready to be tackled tomorrow.

5″ X 7″ Photo-polymer intaglio with embossing created for the 2012 “Leftovers III Exchange” organized by Wingtip Press.

I learned to sew as a young girl and have done so all my life so it seemed only natural to include some of those skills into my work as a printmaker. Every so often, a piece that I’m working on just seems to be incomplete without a little stitching thrown in. As I look at some of my recent pieces, I notice that it’s happening more frequently; probably due to the feminine subject matter.

Since a few people have recently commented on my “stitched” prints, I thought it would be interesting to share one of my earlier pieces with you.  Remnants & Fragments was completed in 1985 and I refer to it as a print collage. At the time, I was experimenting with different types of surfaces to print from and this work was created using a plate made of fiberglass. (You can see the actual plate in the piece; upper right hand top.)

My process was as follows. Using a flat slab of plasticine clay, I pressed various sewing notions into its surface. Next, I built low walls around the clay and then poured fiberglass into the mold. Once hardened, I cleaned the plasticine from the surface of the fiberglass.

My first experiments involved using freshly couched sheets of handmade paper pressed onto the plate. (I used a damp sponge to force the paper down into the plate’s surface.) Once dry, I could easily pry the paper from the plate creating a series of inkless impressions. My inking experiments included printing the fiberglass plate both as a relief print and then as an intaglio print using traditional oil based ink. Since the impressions in the plate were fairly deep, I made sure to use a heavy weight paper and substituted a sheet of foam for the blankets when running the plate through the press. A few prints were done directly on cotton fabric.

Ultimately, I ended up with a rich collection of impressions and couldn’t resist combining them in some way. Deciding to continue with the sewing theme, I mounted the prints on a stretched canvas to create a print collage. I even stuffed and stitched one of the cloth prints. Actual pattern tissues were included along with pins, needles, buttons, snaps and threads. Some drawing, with graphite, finished up the piece.

This remains one of my favorite pieces. It not only demonstrates the versatility of printmaking but reminds me to keep myself open to possibilities.

I finally had a few days of uninterrupted studio time and was determined to use it wisely. My goal was to begin work on a piece for the “Littlest Print Exchange” with a 2012 theme: “Proclamation & Propaganda”. Wanting to tie this in with my Venus Envy series, I decided to play around with the concept of “one size fits all”, propaganda for sure!

An antique dressform sits in the corner of my studio so I combined that image with figures depicting various body shapes and ended up with a composition that I felt not only conveyed a message but also suited the theme of the exchange portfolio.

After playing around with my sketches and settling on a composition, I created a negative on a transparency. A piece of photopolymer film (ImagOn) was adhered to a sheet of Plexiglass, the plate was exposed to an aquatint screen and the negative before being processed in a soda ash bath. After drying the play with a heat gun, I let the plate sit overnight.

The next morning I proofed the plate, made a few adjustments and was satisfied with the image and pleased with what I had conveyed in the 3″ X 3″ format. I decided to move ahead with editioning and because there was a lot going on in my image, I though it best to do a bleed print.
I used Akua carbon black ink and added a little magnesium carbonate to stiffen it slightly. The plates were wiped with pages of old phone books and printed on dry Hahnemhule Copperplate paper. Once I got started everything went smoothly and by noontime I had my edition completed.

It was always my intention to add a bit of color so once the edition was complete I went back and hand-colored the prints using watercolor. Not bad for two days work; a completed edition of 60 prints AND I met my intended goal!

One Size Fits All?

I enjoy participating in print exchanges and one of my favorites is the  “Littlest Print” exchange. I have participated in this exchange since it first started in 2009 and always look forward to the challenge of printing such a large edition in such a small format; 3 inches by 3 inches. The level of work submitted by the participants is strong and the portfolio is put together in a professional manner. The theme for the 2012 exchange is “Proclamation & Propaganda”.

I decided to continue with my “Venus Envy” series and work on a piece that deals with the concept of size and that ubiquitous label “one size fits all”.  As millions of women know, that misleading phrase is just hype and can certainly be labeled propaganda promoted by clothing manufacturers trying to appeal to the masses.

The print’s background deals with the categorization of various body types and was meant to highlight society’s need to label women; apple, pear, rectangular, triangular, etc. The small figures were intended to read as hieroglyphics; stylized and symbolic of the need to typecast. An “average” figure stands before these as a counterpoint to these simplified standards. An old dilapidated dress form was included to reference the fashion industry.

There’s a lot going on in this small format but I’m happy with the print and feel that that I successfully used the portfolio’s theme to make a point.

Inkteraction is the web’s largest community dedicated specifically to printmakers. With members spread out across the globe, the network acts as a central meeting place. In a time when mastery of the internet is an essential skill for any artist, the administrators of Inkteraction have asked 100 community members to volunteer their interpretation of how Inkteraction helps the contemporary printmaker to navigate the electronic currents of the web. With a September 30th deadline looming, it was good to finally have studio time to get this project completed.

I decided to go with a lighthearted version of communicating; folding a note in a paper airplane and sending it on its way. My image was worked up on a sheet of Mylar and incorporates various types of currents as a background for the simple folded planes. This photopolymer intaglio print uses ImagOn film adhered to a sheet of Plexiglass. After exposure and  processing the plate was printed as a bleed image with Akua graphite colored ink on Hahnemhule Copperplate paper in an edition of 15 and measures 7″ X 5″.