Do you look at art and wonder how it was made?
I do.
It is easier to try to figure out the creation steps when I am familiar with the technique. So I can do it for printmaking processes much easier than say painting or sculpture.
It is fun to wonder about prints and pieces that truly inspire me to new action.
But with some types of mixed media printmaking there is an element of chance or serendipity.
Many types of printmaking involve planning layers in reverse and tight registration with crisp clean results. That is not my style.
I like to try it and see what happens. There is an element of trial and error. I often work on several prints at once, so I have a place for all the different kinds of marks.
I generally go from caution to chaos and around to completion eventually. With this type of experimental approach it is nearly impossible to reverse engineer a print. Often marks are one of a kind and part of an earlier impression.
For example:
This soft plate relief print has these steps:
- print the orange plate
- Print the yellow square plate
- Add the plain blue rectangle
- and the 2 steps that make the print
- over print the yellow with a bit of orange
- over print the blue with a masking stencil and white ink
The confusing thing about printmaking can be that it is an indirect method of art making and you often do not get to your end product with a direct line.
So if you can:
- take what you know
- be open to serendipity
- learn from mistakes
then you will be a happy mixed media printmaker.
If you would like to explore soft plate relief printing, then join us in the next session.