I’ve been ridiculously busy since my last post, but that’s to be expected. Spring break happened mid-March, I finished two screenprints and a lithograph (which will be the basis for the second half of a print I started at my prof’s shop) and dove head-first into a website for the Post-it Project. The opening for the project is tonight at the Current Gallery in Baltimore from 7-10pm. Unfortunately, I won’t be able to make it because I’ll be in DC seeing the Rauschenberg exhibit at the National Gallery, having beer and garlic fries at Gordon Biersch, and seeing Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (with John Vanderslice!) at the 9:30. Please send around the Post-it Project website – http://www.postitproject.com – to anyone you think would be interested!

There have been a number of other things that have happened since I last posted, but I just don’t have the time to write about it now. Here are some previews via flickr:

More here.

More here.

Finished this last week and just got around to curating and scanning it. Yet to be named lithograph. First time doing multiple colors, first time using tusche. I love litho. It kicks my ass on a regular basis, but I love it. Spent a good portion of day brainstorming. I talked to Brian for a while and he filled my head with ideas. I think I know what I want to work on for the rest of the semester.

After class, I visited Nick’s print shop. Blown away. Absolutely crazy exposure unit. Can’t even describe. I’m really excited to print there, he’s got a print table with a ‘one-arm’ squeegee. It’s still manual printing, but there’s an arm that holds the squeegee and you basically guide it down a track to print. Lots of pressure. I can print something large(r) without having to worry about 1) not being able to reach to pull the squeegee or 2) not being to apply enough pressure over such a large area. Excitement.

Basically, all I want to do right now is print. Too bad it’s past eleven and it’s ridiculously cold outside…

Here’s a much better picture of my (still untitled) two color etching. I’m pretty satisfied with the handcoloring, but I keep wondering what it could have turned into if I had aquatinted it. If I have a moment next semester, I might just try it.

This is my last etching from class. I really enjoy the appearance of burnishing down an aquatint. It just takes so much time. I practically burnished down the entire original image. I wasn’t terribly satisfied with it until it got to this point. I think I’m getting there.

I love these two. As a pair, they’re my favorite piece that I’ve created this semester. I even went to all the trouble of reprinting the edition (didn’t have much luck last time for a number of reasons), so now they look more rich and black and definitely more consistent. I think it helped printing these separately. I’m still debating on how to hang these – separately or in one mat/frame.

Anyway, I cleaned the basement a bit today. In the amount of time between Thanksgiving and now, all of the potted plants that used to be outside have migrated indoors. There are a lot of them, but who doesn’t like plants? A lot of moving of pool supplies and all that. I’m pretty excited for this summer when I’ll be able to screenprint for a couple of hours and then go outside and jump in the pool. Very happy about that. Getting ready to bring down the rest of my printing stuff, but here it is:

The exposing area.

The printing area.

I bought a new shower head today and a nozzle for the hose outside. Not much stress on the wallet. I’m going to try that for now and if it doesn’t work, I’ll go for something with a little more muscle. I still have to drill the hinge clamps into the table and make a little light proof box for coated screens. Nothing terribly complicated there. I figure I could get some cinder blocks, some scrap wood from next door and some black tarps and fashion something that would keep the light out reasonably well. Just how light sensitive is the emulsion anyway? There’s a decent amount of sunlight that comes through the windows and it makes me a little worried about coating screens anywhere other than the bathroom. It wouldn’t be too much of a problem to coat them in the bathroom, except when summer comes around and people actually start using it again. And storing them in an area that gets some traffic doesn’t sound like a good idea either. I’ll figure it out, just thinking out-loud right now.

Not the best picture, but this is the progress I’ve made with the two plate, two color etching. All of the patches are handcolored watercolor. I’m editioning this tonight (only three) and probably watercoloring it tonight as well. There’s a lot more to show, but I haven’t had the time. I’ll be back in Oklahoma on Saturday (oh my god) and will have a luxurious (haha) five weeks of no school.

Proofs from my current intaglio print. It’s a two plate/two color deal, and it’ll be the first multiple color intaglio image I make. Nerve wracking, but I’m glad I’m giving it more thought. For the key image with the actual map, I’m in the process of burnishing the dark aquatint. I think it’ll give it the softness that I’m looking for. Thinking about doing a light aquatint in some areas of the land. Not sure if that’ll be too overwhelming with the texture layered over it. I’ll probably work on the burnishing, print a proof with both actually layered and go from there.

Went to the Baltimore Museum of Art on Saturday to take some photos for my History of Modern Design paper. Photos starting here. Of course, I gravitated to the Rauschenberg area:

Gotta love it. I have some ideas for mixed media paintings that could translate into a body of work for next semester (Adv. Screenprinting project perhaps?), more on that later.

Got emails from Geoff of the Decoder Ring and Jay of the Bird Machine yesterday (while still panicking about the future) which my made my little heart burst with glee. Hello and thanks, guys.

the cut, in a badly taken macro photo.

A light sketch of what I plan to print.

Finished with cutting the first layer. Can’t see the details very well, I wish I had gotten a picture of it all inked up, but I was too concerned with getting it done quickly (see, impatience).

I’ve already started cutting the second layer. The first layer is a dark mustard-y color, even though it rolled up yellow ochre. I wanted the ochre, but oh well. There’s nothing I can do at this point.

I’ve got to print out some mock-ups for graphic design today and finish cutting the second layer of this print. More later!

I feel very obligated to work on my graphic design homework (it’s due first), but I’m much more invested and interested in my lino cut for Intaglio/Relief. I drew out a sketch yesterday and I’m getting excited about it. I have a feeling it will look better as an etching or, really, anything that has a wider range of tones. But my assignment is to do a lino cut and I’d like to start on the concept that I’ve been developing.

I feel like I should be doing more.

Anyway, I took some progress pictures of my first assignment for Intaglio/Relief. It’s a repetition print using individual “blocks” (made out of a rubber stencil material adhered to a backer) to almost create a pattern.

The printing was kind of awful. I kept getting smears of ink on the edges of the blocks (which I cut down to a smaller size, hoping to prevent that…) and I couldn’t erase it away because the paper I was using (Mulberry) was too thin. However, I’m happy with the results as this is my first relief print.