Tuesday 21 July 2015

July 8, 2015

Drawn at La Ceiba Grafica, in Coatepec, Mexico (outside of Xalapa):











La Ceiba Grafica is a lithography and printmaking complex, located in an old hacienda, in Coatepec (near Xalapa, where Jalapenos come from).   They make all their own lithography supplies.  I made a small lithography print while I was there:





La Ceiba Grafica makes their own wooden litho presses


View of the back patio


They use marble stones,
which they mine locally


I choose a gesture drawing,
which I had sketched the night before,
at their open life drawing session on Wednesday nights


My transferred drawing


I drew with litho pencils,
which they had made at the studio


I also used the tusche
they made at the studio


My stone on one of their 
homemade wooden litho presses


I inked the image up darker than I drew it


The final print,
made on their homemade cotton paper
(which they made from discarded cotton towels
from local hotels)


They scraped the walls of a local breadmaking kitchen,
to get the black pigment,
which they used to make litho pencils
and printmaking ink


I went to the Anthropology Museum in nearby Xalapa, housing many original Olmec heads:


Very impressive museum


Prehispanic printmaking,
using clay rollers
to print seals


Awesome miniature printmaking,
on Amate paper


Print show in a pulqueria!
The most appropriate print venue.
Zamer (from Mexico City)
was showing his print masterpieces 
at "La Otra" pulqueria in Xalapa


Silkscreening at Taller 75 Grados

I made my silkscreen print at Taller 75 Grados in Mexico City, for the Desert Triangle Print Carpeta project (which I am directing):


Final silkscreen print,



Ramon and Christian made an excellent post about the experience on the Main-tain website:






Transparency, proof, and initial print


Cardo Negrete (Arturo's son) helped me with my print,
by making an extra drawing
(to print with an additional screen)
to solidify my image


A transparency of my drawing,
next to the transparency drawn by Cardo
(ultimately they used 3 different screens,
with slightly different shades of the same color,
to print the figure)


Arturo Negrete (director of Taller 75 Grados)
and Julio choose the right color
for my silkscreen print


Bull pulls a print,
while Plata assists 


The first 7 prints
done at Taller 75 Grados --
Top clockwise:
Yorch, Jellyfish Collective, 
Krrrl, Los Dos, Tim Razo, Zeke Peña, 
and Cimi in the middle


Later they pulled Federico Villaba's print


Arturo Negrete and Gonzalo Espinosa,
hold Gonazlo's finished silkscreen


Bottom floor of the studio,
with Ramon and Christine looking on.
It was their idea to print at Taller 75 Grados.
and they organized this silkscreening part
of the carpeta


Arturo Negrete 
went to Xalapa
to give a silkscreen workshop
shortly after he finished Gonzalo's print


such at this one by Jilipolo,
 at Taller 75 Grados


Ramon discovered the Leopoldo Mendez show at the Estanquillo Museum. It was a real treat to see the works of the main printmaker behind the Taller de Grafica Popular.  The TGP is a major inspiration of our Desert Triangle Print Carpeta:



Poster for the Leopoldo Mendez exhibiton


The Estanquillo museum had a studio set up,
so that visitors could make their own simple prints.
Above is my bad cardboard cut.


Ramon and Christian also made small prints
at the Estanquillo museum


Printing on nice press


My final bad print


Later I followed Francisco Delgado to Oaxaca, where he made his print at Taller Libre, for the Desert Triangle Print Carpeta:


Taller Libre in Oaxaca


Adrian made me do a drypoint print in plastic


My "inked" plastic plate


Adrian and Betty run the Taller Libre in Oaxaca,
as they look onto Francisco's uncut linoleum plate


Francisco Delgado's print for our print carpeta


June 24, 2015

Drawn at Stayinn Barefoot hostel, in Mexico City.  Group run by Guadalupe Quesada.















June 16, 2015

Drawn at the Glasbox studio in El Paso: