December 15, 2022 -- Printmaking

We made a lot of prints during the drawing session on Thursday, December 15th, during the model breaks at the North Fourth Art Center in Albuquerque:

Fresh PRINTS on top of 8x8 inch FRAMES

Clockwise, starting upper left:

Ellie Weadock, Lindsey Costlow, 

Henry Morales, and Rich Hasler

STYROFOAM PRINTS

The big innovation was Styrofoam.  After printing with Styrofoam plates the night before at Quelab, I bought a big stack of plates at Walmart to try again -- for the artists to draw the live figure and make prints of the drawings immediately afterwards.  The quick turn around was beautiful, as everyone could carry a print and a frame home with them after the drawing session:

Cutting the Styrofoam plate

into a rectangle, so that we could print it

on the Tortilla Press

Lindsey Costlow

with her fresh Styrofoam print

We had seen Lindsey Costlow earlier this year last July,  during the Printed Matter Festival in Santa Fe:

Julianna Kirwin posted this picture

of Lindsey Costlow in front of the Axle van

where we were doing live printmaking

Lindsey Costlow inking her print

Printing:  Clockwise from the upper left:

Rich Hasler, Ellie Weadock,

Henry Morales, and Lindsey Costlow 

Ellie Weadock made a few prints with us:

Ellie Weadock prints

while Henry Morales looks on

Ellie Weadock 

Ellie Weadock's inked Styrofoam plate

Ellie Weadock 

Rich Hasler's

Styrofoam plate and print

Rich Hasler's

Styrofoam plate and print

Rich Hasler

Rich Hasler

Rich Hasler

Mark Woody

Styrofoam print

Henry Morales'

Styrofoam print

Cody Kamrowski's

Styrofoam print

Krrrl's Styrofoam plate

Krrrl's Styrofoam print

We printed Robert Atkinson's Styrofoam plate

with oil in on good paper --

he created this the night before 

at Quelab

Robert Atkinson's 

Styrofoam print masterpiece

Expanded PVC Foam

I also passed out some Expanded PVC Foam 6x6 inch squares, which I bought at Port Plastics.  Henry Morales drew the model on this material, pressing into it with a ball point pen.  It is much harder to gouge than the Styrofoam, but gives sharper lines:

Henry Morales' plate

of Expanded PVC Foam

Henry Morales' print

SHALLOW CUTS

It is hard to print from linoleum with shallow cuts, but apparently it is possible.

At his house, Cody Kamrowski successfully printed Rich Hasler's Expanded PVC Foam print, which Rich had created with a ball point pen.  The foam is much harder than Styrofoam, so it's more difficult to gouge with a pen, and Rich's lines were shallow.  Cody also recommended using a harder roller:

Mark Woody made a beautiful plate in linoleum, but with shallow prints.  So we were not able to finesse it well enough on the Tortilla Press to make a good print for him:

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UPDATES:

Ellie Weadock continued printing with Styrofoam plates, and other surfaces, at her home: