Sunday, March 5, 2017

The Art of Complication

So, let's be real. Every time I go a while without writing, I always start my post with a generic statement about how sorry I am that I haven't posted. They are always true, so I'm going to guess that you get the point and try not to really write one for this post.

These last couple of weeks have been crazy for me! I have had several print making projects to work on and turn in, as well as other things in my life. I feel like I'm finally starting to pull myself together, which is super relieving. After feeling like my life was constantly falling apart, it's nice to feel like I am straightening things out for a change.

For one, I finally got up my art instagram page yesterday. I have been meaning to do this for months, but it's finally up. Yes I did post about 20 pictures in 2 days to get ready for it, but it's worth it. I updated the instagram gadget (found in the left column of this page) to be my art page rather than my personal one. Just click and view, and hopefully help me get a little more outside recognition. Networking is so advantageous in today's world, so I'm excited to have mine ready. I will try and keep up progress and final products of my work , and hopefully before too long, the page will gain traction.

That being said, I have been hard at work making the art too. I finished a fun surface-roll and hard ground intaglio bleed print a few weeks ago, and I honestly liked it more than I thought I would.


This is what the final product looks like. I had a lot of trouble printing it, so it ended up about a third of the size that I had planned. Most of the plate isn't even printed because of it. I was going to do a much bigger version and print it on black paper, which I figured would show up great because of the strong ink pigment of the red surface roll. Unfortunately, it didn't really work out that well. Try as I might, I couldn't get it to print, and I was running out of paper. Thankfully, I had some paper scraps left from other projects that I could use to make a smaller version of the print, which it what I did. I cropped off most of the top and some of the bottom of the plate, and then I printed that. Honestly, for a last minute improvisation, I would say it worked out really well.

All of the class' prints are hanging in the student gallery in the third floor of the art building right now, and honestly, we couldn't be more proud of them.


Mine sure looks tiny compared to everyone else's, but that's okay. I am really happy with the way it turned out considering how it gave me so many issues throughout the process.

My next project has turned out to be even more of a challenge. It's actually really funny. I am doing technically easier pieces this semester than I have done in past semesters, but they are giving me even more problems when I go to print them. After I do all that I can, it still seems that I will inevitably run into a problem rather than invent one for myself like I did before. It's so much easier to control the expected than to be surprised. I finally got my copper plate to look perfect. It was late one night in the lab and I was tired, so I pulled one proof (a practice print) and went home. It printed perfectly, so I couldn't have been happier. Unfortunately when I went back to print the final copies the next day, it wasn't working. They were printing terribly, and I didn't know what to do. I finally just gave up and decided to go for a redo on the project (which I can thankfully do without a grade reduction as long as I have something to bring to the critique). On top of that, I am also delving into the world of block printing for my next project: the print exchange. I have been carving a linoleum block to essentially create a custom stamp that I will use for this next project. I have played around a little bit in this side of printmaking when I was in middle school and high school, so it's exciting to do it on a higher level now. It's amazing to see how much I remembered from before as well as how much new knowledge I had to bring to the table. I'll post more on those prints once they are finished.

That all being said, I am so grateful for all the opportunities I have to study and create art. Self expression is super important to me, and I'm thrilled to be honing one more creative outlet to help me do it. It's amazing what you can do and how you can express it when you truly put your mind to work.

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