Printmaking

Hey all here is another update. I've gotten caught up from the two separate weekends in Mendocino. Although they were weeks apart I finally put all the stuff back where it goes. At least in the correct room.

I am new to printmaking with only the last year under my belt in any sort of work. However on my last trip to Mendocino I took a workshop at the Mendocino Art Center (MAC) on photopolymer etching. I love this stuff. You have a steel plate covered in photopolymer coating and expose it to ultra violet light. We used a box at the workshop with tanning bed lights I think; however at home I used the SUN. Absolutely the Coolest!

For the process you create a transfer much like a negative; however what is black is black and what is white is white. Opposite of what a negative is in reality. I created mine on an overhead transparency. The ones they still use in some classrooms that are not completely digital.

At the workshop I came un-prepared (that is another story) and I created a very simple ink wash to learn the process. I copied the drawing onto the overheard transparency on the copy machine in the office.

Here is a picture of the drawing as well as the transparency, the plate, and the print.




By using the ink drawing I was experimenting with keeping the middle values in the drawing and it worked very well. I also did a print from a photograph of a shed door. You get a great deal of detail with this process. Here is a picture of the shed print.
Over the weekend I etched a plate unsing the sun in my back yard. I will take pictures and post soon. If you are thinking about taking a workshop in photopolymer etching I highly reccomend it.