Today I went around my studio gathering up all the prints that I have done this year. I am getting ready to to sort through and finish a few for the holidays.

I really am a process person. I love figuring out how to make printmaking techniques work for me. There is a lot of trial and error, but that is the fun part for me. So there are plenty of less than pleasing prints in the process.

I say to myself, if I get 2 good prints out of 10 that I make then I am doing good. I think it takes time to get to know the inks, paper, and materials and how they all work together.

I try to give myself permission to fail fast and often. That way I get closer to success sooner. Now that I have my prints all together, I can sort through and put them:

1. Love it!  Done ready to mat and frame.
2. Needs a little something to call it complete
3. Paper with potential, yet needs collage, cropping  or a lot more layers.

I challenge you to gather all your art, prints, drawings from this past year in one space and sort through them. See what you discover.

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I love experimenting with printmaking processes. I don’t always know how I will end up using the printed papers that I make.

I tried a variety of marbling products, the Suminigashi kit, alum coated paper with waterproof india ink and thin watery acrylics on a liquid starch bath.

I found that the type of paper is very important. The best results were on rice paper and mulberry paper. Most of my other papers gave a faint impression or did not absorb the inks.

I did so many papers that I figured out a few things:

• I like a simpler modern style of marks
• Do 2 or 3 colors max
• Use a big juicy water color brush
• It holds and therefore can release more ink
• Get clean water often
• Skim of the top
• Let the water get very still
• Use very diluted detergent as a dispersant

Some of my goals were to use the papers that I already have in the studio, get a richly pigmented impression and to learn what I like. So for me it is rice paper, the suminagshi kit and a big pointed water color brush. I worked small 5 x 7 and used a foam tray as my container.

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