foam plate printmaking

This morning I came to the studio and had very little time to do a print. So Iexperimented with using the water soluble oil pastels on the foam block plates. It is so fast and easy and clean. And you do not need many special tools and supplies. I just

1. colored the foam plate with the pastels,
2. spritzed the paper and
3. blotted it on newsprint so it is not shiny
4. place the paper on the plate
5. cover with wax paper
6. burnish with a paint brush handle, spoon, door knob, barren

These foam printing plates are plates that I had already “incised” with lines and marks.

Today I played with a method I like to call foam plate reduction printmaking. I make more new marks in between states/colors. I had varying results. I think that it will be a great warm up and discovery project for my printmaking class next week at college for kids, NECC, Haverhill. I started out with the goal of experimenting with different mark making tools to create different textures, lines and shape.