New Printmakers

The images below are the first three-color separation monotypes by all the new printmakers. A pretty exciting bunch of prints. We've had discussions about each one and suggested the things they might try to make their messages stronger. With the knowledge they gained by this first effort, and from watching others execute their processes, their second effort will be even more exciting. Everyone is developing a theme through their work this semester, so how each one grows in concept and process will be fun to see.

Brittany Loop is investigating the visual dynamic of Koi.

Todd Brewer is exploring isolation, but not necessarily in a 'dark' way.

Tiffany Walker is exploring the seasons.

Patrick Berry is interpreting A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Miri Fetko is responding to Spanish poetry.

Maggie Poe is examining work related symbols and iconography.

Kirsten Goodman is utilizing cultural symbols representing the elements.

Kaitie Skinner is examining architectural possibilities.

Ellen Everwine is seeing through different points-of-view.

Brittany Norris is responding to social media and its effects on identity.

Allison Jones is exploring narrative fantasy.

Some of the images went through some funky color shifts in the translation from ink to pixel, but I hope you can see how the various approaches have expanded the process into some unique discoveries.

We've Started Printing

On Teusday, the first day of class, besides detailing the usual first-day-of-class kind of stuff, we also created a Trace or Touch Print. As folks arrived in the studio they were sent over to a black rectangle that had been gridded off and instructed to do a quick self portrait within each of the frames and to include their names at the bottom of each section. The result is the first image above, a fun composite of those who were there on the first day.

Today we discussed themes and concepts that would drive the explorations into Intaglio, Relief, Monotype, and Collagraph, and then we created a collaborative three color separation monotype (second image above). Three groups worked on three inked sheets of mylar, one yellow, one cyan, and one magenta. By creating this collaborative print, everyone became familiar with the inks, the paper, and the press. One of the advantages also of pulling this impression was to realize that the process colors do not yield the same secondary colors as the primary colors do. Instead of green, orange, and violet, the process colors result in red, green, and blue.

Each of the three groups explored different approaches to reducing the field of color with marks using stamps, textured materials, solvents, plastics, etc. The result was pretty cool for a 15 person 90 minute collaboration.

First Full day of class, 09/01/11

Looking forward to discussing ideas and themes with the new printmakers tomorrow. we're also going to do a collaborative monotype so that everyone will be prepared to execute their own image. The monotype above is from last spring's class. Anna Loos created this print based on her theme of home. She carried that theme throughout the semester creating some interesting images in intaglio and relief.

See you in the morning.

Fall Semester 2011

Welcome back to the printshop. There has been a lot of activity in the shop getting it transformed from a paper-making studio back into a printmaking studio. Wende, in particular, has done a Herculean job with that transformation. There were some really beautiful things created this summer with the paper makers, and I know that energy will continue as we explore intaglio and relief during this fall semester. I have not posted a syllabus yet because it's still under construction, although there aren't that many changes, I've simply been dragging my feet a little through the final remnants of summer. So we'll all have a fresh look at what's in store during our first gathering tomorrow. See you in the shop bright and early with the coffee pot perking!

Spring Printmaking: we're done.

Below is the colophon for the Self-Portraits exchange portfolio created by the afternoon printmaking class. I don't have many of the individual images documented, but if you click on the colophon, you'll see it on a larger and more detailed scale.

Other highlights of the semester included some inspiring color intaglios by Wende Cudmore:

Pako Martin, one of our graduating seniors crated some interesting work with the prints below. The first has a waxed print (thanks Rob) sewn over a color intaglio. The other is a piece of linoleum with holes cut into it and then coins dropped into the holes, intaglio inked and printed.

Miranda Becht explored some multi-plate intaglio prints using both etched zinc and solar plates.

Daniel Marshall also did some engaging images with solar plates, and check out the one he has on the colophon. Pretty nice.

Dani Maudlin, our newest BFA printmaking major, tried many different approaches with her work. This piece is an intaglio chine colle mounted on hand made paper.

Our shop had some very good energy in it the past few days and we were all a little sad and a lot tired when Nicole headed back to Murray. It was one of the most intense and productive printing sessions in a long while. Starting on Sunday afternoon and finishing the printathon on Monday evening, resulting in an edition of 35, with a small hand full of printers proofs for Wende, Dani, Daniel, Pako, Brian, and Donna. Rolling Knob press is especially please to have one of Nicole's prints in its collection.

Declining Constraint is a four plate, six color intaglio print, filled with personal symbols, rich textures, and subtle references to Nicole's life, her losses, and obviously her passions. She discussed the developments in her work to many students and many different classes, including drawing, foundations, and ceramics.

Nicole presented two very impressive portfolios, one of her prints and another of her current and former students. Our students and the printmaking faculty were especially impressed to see the work that students were doing at Murray State. They were ambitious, large, and beautifully drawn and printed.

Here Nicole places one of the four plates on the press bed, the RED! plate. Wende was the master of that plate for most of the printing sessions. Nicole leaves the paper engaged so that the multiple plates register, and her template is a thin tympan with a plate-sized hole cut out to fit each subsequent plate into. There were only three registration issues, all caused by me (rats!)

Daniel had a session with the RED! plate as well when Wende and Dani got promoted to other plates. All had very rewarding experiences with the entire process. We're going to try to bring Nicole back next year for a special book making workshop, and Donna's paper making class this summer will be geared up for creating some very special papers for that experience.

See some of the past few posts for additional images from the past few days.

Thanks, Nicole.

Nicole Hand Printathon

Yesterday was a full day in the shop with a support group that inked and printed almost 40 impressions, four plates and six colors - that's 160 pulls through the press. This group was the last combination of printers on the last impression: Donna Stallard, Nicole Hand, Wende Cudmore, and Danielle (Dani) Maudlin.

Nicole gave an impromptu presentation to about 60 students during the day. Talking about her works, its processes and content.

At the beginning of the day, donna was the 'yellow' plate.

Arts and Letters Academic Advisor, Greg Roberts, stopped by the shop to meet Nicole and see the progress of print.

Nicole and Wende examine one of the first impressions of the day.

Check by later, there'll be a wrap-up of images and commentary.

Nicole is in the shop!

Nicole arrived today, and within a very short period of time pulled a beautiful proof. A four-plate color intaglio. The above image is one of Nicole's prints she created for the Vitamin I Portfolio from 2008. She will be in the shop through Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, from 1:30 - 3:00 and from 6:15 - 7:45, Nicole will show and discuss her portfolio of prints and the current project for Rolling Knob Press. If you can't make either of those presentations, please stop by anytime to see the progress.

NICOLE HAND VISITING ARTIST

This year's Rolling Knob Press artist, Nicole Hand, will be in the shop from Sunday, April 10 through Wednesday morning, April 13. She will be printing an edition for Rolling Knob of a multi plate color intaglio.

Nicole Hand is currently a Professor of Art at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky where she teaches printmaking, bookbinding and drawing. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 200 solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions. Recent exhibitions include Varied Voices, Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado, Delta National Print Exhibition, North America Print Biennial,Color Print USA, and Parkside National Small Print Exhibition. She has given lectures and workshops in over twenty venues including Atlanta Printmakers Studio, Arkansas State University, The University of Arizona, University of Texas at Arlington, Ohio University, University of South Dakota, Arkansas State University and The University of Kentucky, Lexington. The Cumberland Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee and The Heike Pickett Gallery, Lexington, Kentucky represents Nicole's work. She received her MFA in printmaking from the University of Miami, and a BFA from the University of South Dakota. Nicole lives in Almo, Kentucky with her husband Jim Bryant and daughter Ella.

We're excited to have Nicole with us this next week!

New Intaglio prints

The beginning printmaking class has been working on their first intaglio prints. Here are examples from our midterm critique.

Anna is exploring the theme of "home" in her work this semester. In this print she incorporated soft ground, aquatint, and chine colle.

Nick is visiting all the things he likes to do; it's a Nick world. In this print, he pushed his aquatints with lots of scraping and burnishing, and after inking the intaglio he did a surface roll over the plate.

Daniel and/or Frank is expanding the beauty of sound and movement in his work. Here he interpreted the scratchy sounds of DJing, even allowing the edges of his plate to become scratchy (intentionally).

David is looking at robotics and technology and it's impact on human beings. A cyborg skeleton with aquatint, roulette, and a surface roll yields an interesting interpretation.

Dani is looking within to explore self-portraiture. In this intaglio print she has chine colled the figure onto a thin decorative paper later mounted onto a piece of handmade paper.

All five of these print are well executed through a variety of processes, and represent strong first attempts at the intaglio process. Later in the semester we will all be creating another edition of prints for a theme-based exchange portfolio (Self-Portraits). Each participant will print an edition of 11, for 17 portfolios. Each portfolio will contain 10 random prints from the class. Extra credit will be awarded for the uniqueness and the craftsmanship of the portfolio containers.

I'll be back soon to show what the advanced group is up to.

Wild and Wooley Video

Brian Harper has posted a video of Rob's visit on his blog and shared it with me to post here. Enjoy.

Rob Wooley Day in the Printshop

Rob Wooley was our visiting artist in the print shop yesterday and he stayed busy from early morning until late in the evening. He discussed the directions of his recent work, and the explorations with a variety of materials, including exotic papers that he chine colles onto one-of-a-kind prints. His two demonstrations were very informative. It was great having him back in the shop.

We all gathered around to look at the portfolio of prints that Rob brought with him. The layering of paper that he's utilizing with his work creates some really beautiful images, subtle veils of color and texture like the print at the top adds an almost spiritualness to the images. There are no longer hands or figures or portraits in his images, or at least not that are immediately readable. But instead dense textures, passages of light, and movement of amorphic shapes. Pretty amazing things happening in his work in what seems like a relatively short time.

Here Rob demonstrates the application of a tusche wash on a zinc plate, pushing it around while it's fluidity allows. After it dried, he etched it in nitric acid. The particles of the tusche produced a rich and velvety aquatint.

We had some refreshments before Rob began his presentations. Miranda was all about it!

Visiting Artist Rob Wooley

Rob Wooley, BFA alumnus 2010, will return for a day of printshop demonstrations on Tuesday, February 15. Rob is currently pursuing his MFA in printmaking from the Herron School of Art. Rob will be demonstrating a process that replicates tusche washes on etching plates and possibly another that involves waxing prints. It'll be a print party so bring some goodies so we can keep him fed.

Last year's Rolling Knob Press artist, David Morrison, created a multi-colored, multi-plate lithograph. Rob served as the chief assistant in the printing of that edition.

The installation of Rob's thesis exhibition in the Barr Gallery that included lithographs, silk screen prints, digital prints, offset prints, and a variety of mixed media.

It'll be good to have Rob back in 'his' printshop.