July 23, 2022

Drawn at the Edith Bunker in Albuquerque:

I got a picture of Brian Gonzalez and I to send to Martin Campos in Philly, as he might remember both of us from the drawing sessions twenty years ago:

Brian Gonzalez and I 

in the Edith Bunker Studio 

KEN ROMIG

Ken Romig drew the whole whole studio, bringing "context" to the model.  I scanned his drawing and tried to make a print from it:

The original Ken Romig drawing

I compressed the image into a square,

and massaged it to laser cut

Laser engraving the image at Quelab

into a 6x6 inch linoleum square

The laser engraved 6x6 inch linoleum square

Printed on a Tortilla Press

(July 26, 2022)

I printed the linoleum quickly, and probably could have achieved a uniform, darker background had I printed it a few more times.  However I think that the inconsistent salty background actually enhances these thin-lined drawings, giving more space to the whole scene.

The thin lines are more difficult to print, as they tend to clog up with ink.  I did engrave a second linoleum, making deeper lines.  However I suspect that the thin-but-deeper lines will still probably clog up with ink and "erase" some of the fine lines in the final print.

Perhaps there is a way to thicken the lines with software, or otherwise manipulate the image and/or the printing technique to make a stronger image.  This print is a good start towards creating something wonderful.  Maybe printing with warm brown ink would enhance the final print.

UPDATE (July 28):

I laser engraved the same drawing -- only with the Laserpecker -- which would only engrave 4x4 inches maximum:

Engraving with a hand held laser cutter -- Laserpecker --

which only covers a 4x4 inch area max

After laser engraving,

I cut the linoleum down to 4x4 inches

Then I tried to print with the new metal Abusa adjustable Tortilla Press which I had just picked up (July 27th):

Abusa adjustable Tortilla Press

The 8x8 inch paper

exceeded the round Tortilla Press

Ultimately I could not get a good print from the metal adjustable Abusa Tortilla Press.  The pressure was not consistent, as it was weaker around the outer perimeter (furthest from the crank), and did not print well on those edges:

Poor prints with the Abusa Tortilla Press --

the best print, upper right,

came after I pressed the glass baren over it

My best print (upper right above)

came after I pressed with the Tortilla Press,

and then pressed again with the 

Iron Frog glass baren

I then printed the same 4x4 inch linoleum square with the wooden Tortilla Press than I had been using, and further pressing with the Iron Frog glass baren, and made a decent print that way:

The wooden Tortilla Press

and Iron Frog glass baren,

gave me a decent print

with the Akua carbon black ink

Note:  After I laser engraved the linoleum I cleaned it with LA's Totally Awesome cleaner which worked wonderfully.  The laser cutter melts the linoleum, leaving a sticky film around the cut lines, which is hard to wash off with just water or dish soap.