Today's Class- Today's topic was printmaking, the artistic mediums that include a fixed matrix that is used to create identical copies of an image, which can allow the cost per piece to be less. Processes can include relief (woodcut. linoleum), metal plates (etching, engraving), lithography (stone), silkscreen, etc. We used slides to get an overview of such artworks.
Our portfolio exercise today involved a more modern print process, the collagraph, which encompasses a number of materials collaged to a flat surface, with ink applied in a variety of ways, and different possibilities for printing. I chose a process that is simple and inexpensive- plates made from thin cardboard, and found object scraps attached with white glue. Printing will come in a few weeks.
How to make this up- If you attended class today you may have what you need, although the option exists to add more to your plate before we print them. If you missed today, you have to do it all on your own. Here are some student examples from previous semesters.
Each of these sets shows the plate that was used to print the image, and the resulting image. The ink is water soluble black relief ink, applied with a roller. Note that the printed image is a mirror image of the original, so if you want your print to include letters or numbers, you'll have to make them backwards on the plate to print forwards on the paper. Also note that the ink is black and that the color of the materials in the plate have nothing to do with the color on the print- it will all print black. Students do have the option of adding color to the finished print as in the bottom example above- once the ink is dry, color can be added over the top by watercolor, thin pastels, colored pencils, etc, without eliminating the texture in the original print.
Start with a piece of thin cardboard, the large panel of a cereal or cracker box will do fine. Create some kind of recognizable image out of scrap materials and glue it to the cardboard surface. In class I provided a lot of different kinds of cloth, but I showed examples including such things as yarn, leaves, candy wrappers, paper towels- a thin coating of diluted white glue will keep them more stable. The one rule I have is that 8 different textures must be in the final print, and the above examples show how different materials can print different textures. I do advise not using cotton balls- they seem like they would have interesting results, but the ink doesn't stick to the cotton, but the cotton sticks to the ink, makes a big mess.
Homework- If you didn't complete your plate in class, get it finished by April 13th, 3 weeks from today. On that day I will bring in the ink and tools to print them in class.
The majority of students in both classes turned in the museum assignment yesterday. Those will be returned graded at our next meeting. If you didn't do it yet, I will accept them late, but point deduction will increase with each week you miss.
The other written assignment, your research paper, is due April 27, 2018.
***Kean is closed on March 30, 2018***
**********No class that day***********
For next class April 6, 2018- We will start the first individually graded art project of the semester, which will involve two weeks in class and you'll get another week to finish it on your own. Bring your 18"x24" drawing pad, pencil and eraser, and your pastels.
