Like any other weekend, this weekend is going to be busy and hectic, but I am determined to complete everything I need to do. To help myself get the blog done for the weekend, I'm starting it before I do the work and as I work I'll add on to it once I've actually done the work.
That said, I am working on a woodblock test! I'm excited to try this. Learning and experiencing new media techniques are very zen for me... when they're working. I think this is because of the charge I get from learning and accomplishing something new. I'm that much more pumped to go do other artwork.
I'm starting small and working on a block that is maybe five by five to get the experience of carving a piece of wood. It has been a very unique experience I haven't done any carving before, but it's a very calming time. The block itself may or may not be successful when I go to print it. We'll find out next week, but I have high hopes. I have already used this image in litho prints and am planning to go back into them to get some more depth in them. I have hopes that the aid of the grain will give this piece a texture that the others do not. Texture in my drawing is definitely my thing, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
Studio (Home): 3 to 3 and a half hours
Blog: 1 hour
Sunday, March 31, 2013
Friday, March 29, 2013
Size and Sketch
My Monday was an interesting mixed studio where I was working on a few different classes at once. I did some sketching for Printmaking but nothing was really jumping out at me. I would say that I had a solid hour that was definitely dedicated to printmaking sketches that were less than successful before I gave up and moved on to other work.
However, my Wednesday was a productive, interesting day. I pulled five different prints and working on various sizes with some test sketches. I am almost certain that I finally have the correct mix of gum arabic and water down, the prints were coming out perfectly. That was an exciting discovery. I am still rushing when I go to line up the paper on the prints, but I'll get it to register right with some more practice. The typerwriter paper has been helpful to learn that more than anything.
I had a really interesting sketch happen that fits into my body-image theme. I want to use it to experiment with printing multiple colors through lithography. The basic gist is that it's a figure all wrapped up in a cloth tape. Instead of numbers there are words that the figure is thinking because of the numbers on the tape that respond to their measurements. We'll see how it goes, but I'd really love to see the figure in grey scale and the tape as bright yellow. Fingers crossed.
Studio Hours (in SCA, Monday): 1 hr
Studio Hours (in the print studio, Wednesday): 4 hrs
Blog Time: 1 hr
(Oops. I thought I hit post for this on Wednesday night, good thing I checked when I started writing my blog on Friday.)
However, my Wednesday was a productive, interesting day. I pulled five different prints and working on various sizes with some test sketches. I am almost certain that I finally have the correct mix of gum arabic and water down, the prints were coming out perfectly. That was an exciting discovery. I am still rushing when I go to line up the paper on the prints, but I'll get it to register right with some more practice. The typerwriter paper has been helpful to learn that more than anything.
I had a really interesting sketch happen that fits into my body-image theme. I want to use it to experiment with printing multiple colors through lithography. The basic gist is that it's a figure all wrapped up in a cloth tape. Instead of numbers there are words that the figure is thinking because of the numbers on the tape that respond to their measurements. We'll see how it goes, but I'd really love to see the figure in grey scale and the tape as bright yellow. Fingers crossed.
Studio Hours (in SCA, Monday): 1 hr
Studio Hours (in the print studio, Wednesday): 4 hrs
Blog Time: 1 hr
(Oops. I thought I hit post for this on Wednesday night, good thing I checked when I started writing my blog on Friday.)
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Take Number... Are We Still Keeping Track?
It's half way through the semester and I feel like this blog has been a series of failed starts and restarts... and restarts. I'm really and truly horrible at this sort of thing, but I'm going to just keep on trying... and trying... and trying...
And while I'm trying to get this wrong I'm going to be doing some studio work too.
... It's going to be a lot of studio work, actually. Which is as it should be.
I looked at my table of prints earlier this week and I was actually very proud of what I had accomplished so far. They aren't traditional by any means, but that has been the work that I have been producing all semester in all my classes. That said, I think I understand why I have to show a traditional work presentation as well as my present it how I want it method. There's a saying in the creative writing world that applies here I think. "You have to know what grammar rule you are breaking in order to break it."
That said, I'm going to try to create some works that are presented in a traditionally-bordered and traditionally-signed format. But I also want to keep playing with the presentation method if I think the piece needs something different. I even tried to size the paper correctly today! I was excited with that.
Forgive the less-than-high-quality pictures, I'll take better ones later. I was getting back in the swing of things printing-wise today, so there were still some errors in these attempts. However I kind of figured that was going to be the case with these first prints. Rather than get frustrated with them, I decided to give a new kind of paper a try and worry a little less about the formatting. I found a box of old, cream colored type-writer paper at my house years ago and thought it would be perfect for printing. I think I was right. But you should take a look and see (still sorry for the quality).
I did a little experimenting with the boarders here as well. I really like to see the color bleed and smear, but I will make an honest go at clean-edged prints... another day. :)
Studio: 4 hours
Blog: 1 hour
And while I'm trying to get this wrong I'm going to be doing some studio work too.
... It's going to be a lot of studio work, actually. Which is as it should be.
I looked at my table of prints earlier this week and I was actually very proud of what I had accomplished so far. They aren't traditional by any means, but that has been the work that I have been producing all semester in all my classes. That said, I think I understand why I have to show a traditional work presentation as well as my present it how I want it method. There's a saying in the creative writing world that applies here I think. "You have to know what grammar rule you are breaking in order to break it."
That said, I'm going to try to create some works that are presented in a traditionally-bordered and traditionally-signed format. But I also want to keep playing with the presentation method if I think the piece needs something different. I even tried to size the paper correctly today! I was excited with that.
Forgive the less-than-high-quality pictures, I'll take better ones later. I was getting back in the swing of things printing-wise today, so there were still some errors in these attempts. However I kind of figured that was going to be the case with these first prints. Rather than get frustrated with them, I decided to give a new kind of paper a try and worry a little less about the formatting. I found a box of old, cream colored type-writer paper at my house years ago and thought it would be perfect for printing. I think I was right. But you should take a look and see (still sorry for the quality).
I did a little experimenting with the boarders here as well. I really like to see the color bleed and smear, but I will make an honest go at clean-edged prints... another day. :)
Studio: 4 hours
Blog: 1 hour
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