Halloween Inspiration

In the last few weeks I have been doing some experimenting with new materials and was inspired to make some Halloween tags and backgrounds.  I have access to a photocopier again, so the first thing I did was blender pen image transfers!  The three images I used are cabinet cards from the store.  The transfer process is really easy:

1. Photocopy the image . I usually make multiple copies while I'm at the machine.
2. Cut out the image- this step is not necessary if the background of the image is white with no toner.
3. Place paper image side down on tag (or whatever you are transferring to.)
4. Color the paper with a blender pen that contains xylene to saturate the paper.  Do this in a well ventilated area.
5. Rub with a bone folder or other tool to make sure the entire image transfers.

I love using this technique for image transfers because it can be imperfect and unpredictable which lends an element of spooky-ness that is perfect for Halloween tags.  The old clothing and imperfect transfer brings to mind ghosts and haunted houses.  After doing the image transfers, I added color with Dylusions ink spray and Faber Castell Gelatos.  The Gelatos are still new to me, so this was a great chance to experiment with different techniques.  I mixed the gelatos with water in mini spray bottles to create my own color sprays, drew directly on the tags and blended the colors with a foam blending tool, used the gelatos with a waterbrush like paint...

Afterwards, I added washi tape and other embellishments.  The keys are tag board cut-outs from Coffee Break Design, and the "Boo" banners are my own creations.  Then I added some of my favorite ribbon in coordinating colors.

My other Halloween experiments used alcohol inks, stencils, and Golden Soft Gel in gloss.  I was inspired by the Tim Holtz tag tutorial for September.  I tried his method of dribbling different colors of alcohol inks and blender solution onto a craft mat and "swiping" the cardstock over the surface of the craft mat to get a unique background.  Then I applied the Golden gel over a spider web stencil to create a glossy raised image.  The Golden gel took a long time to dry, so I worked on these backgrounds over several days.  Later I added distress ink to darken the background, leaving the areas under the dried gel the original background color.

I tried this technique with Gelato backgrounds too and it worked great.  For the purple spider web in the upper right hand corner of the photo, I tinted some of the gel with a few drops of acrylic paint for a completely different look.  Overall, I had a lot of fun experimenting and got a few cute Halloween decorations out of it!

Hard Ground Etching

After completing our explorations of monoprinting in my printmaking class, we ventured into the world of line etching.  The first process we explored is called hard ground.  The process starts by coating a zinc plate with a tar mixture and letting it dry.  When the ground dries it is hard, but fragile enough to chip or scratch through.  Then an image is scratched into the ground so the plate is exposed.  The plate is then put into an acid bath to etch the lines.  The etching process is typically done in multiple stages by scratching additional lines into the ground and then etching for half the time... and so on until all the etching is completed.  This creates some very dark lines, some very light lines, and some in the middle.

For my first hard ground plate I used a drawing I made while in Florence last year.  It shows the statues in the town square next to the Loggia of the Lancers.  I printed an edition of three for my project, as well as two Artist Proofs.  An edition consists of multiple prints off of the same plate, printed to look identical.

Artist Proofs, also known as AP, are unique prints made from a plate.  APs can be created by leaving extra ink on the plate before printing, hand coloring a completed print, using a mixture of colored inks, applying cut pieces of paper, etc.  The process I used for my APs is called chine colle.  After applying ink to the plate and preparing it for printing, cut pieces of paper are moistened, coated with wallpaper paste, and carefully placed on the plate glue side up.  The plate is then printed like usual.  The pieces of cut paper are adhered to the printing paper, and the image is printed on top.

Stay tuned for a post about another etching technique: soft ground!

Textural Monotypes

Last month my printmaking class experimented with textural monotypes.  A textural monotype involves blackening a plate with ink, placing textured materials on top, and printing the plate.  The areas with textures placed on top will print white unless rolled with ink, and the background will print black.  The fun part about textural monotypes is rearranging the textures and reprinting the plate.  Moving the textural materials will leave impressions in the ink on the plate, and will coat the back of the textured material with ink.

This set of prints was created using yarn, part of an old knit sweater, die cut scrapbook paper, lace, and ric-rac.

This set of prints was created using lace, die cut scrapbook paper, paper doilies, and a photocopy of a photograph.

I transferred the photo using a paper lithograph technique.  I coated the photocopy with gum arabic, which allowed ink to stick to the black areas of my photocopy, and resist the white areas.  It basically turns the photocopy into a temporary printing plate.

Painting Alla Prima

For the first week of my Intermediate Painting class, we worked from a still life to create an "alla prima" painting. Alla Prima is an Italian term meaning an initial painting, or painting done all at once. Essentially, the painting is worked all in one sitting, or in multiple sittings while the paint is still wet. The method of painting encourages a looser, more expressive style with an emphasis on interesting brushwork. The alternative method of painting includes multiple layers of paint and thin glazes to enhance colors and add details.The still life I chose to work from included a piece of red cloth, an animal skull, and purple foliage. The painting was completed in roughly 2-3 hours and not reworked. I consider this painting to be more of a "sketch" using paint as opposed to a piece I would hang on the wall. It had also been nearly a year since my last painting class, so this exercise was great for reaquainting myself with the materials.
Stay tuned for more posts about painting. Photos of my first painted self portrait are coming soon!

Monotypes Week 2

My second week of printing monotypes was an experiment with dark field monotypes. A dark field monotype starts with a plate coated in black ink with a sheet of dry printing paper on top. An image is then drawn onto the back of the sheet of paper. Pressure from the drawing utensil (pen, pencil, stick, cotton swab, fingertip, etc...) transfers ink onto the paper, leaving a white area on the plate. After the drawing is transferred, the front of the paper will have dark lines on a white background. Running the plate through the press will create a print with white lines on a dark background.
For my prints I used a drawing I made while in Rome this past spring. The drawing is of the obelisk in St. Peter's square in the Vatican. As with most prints, the image turns out backwards from the original drawing. Next time I will probably reverse my image on tracing paper before using it for a print.

Monotypes Week 1

One of the classes I am taking this semester is all about Printmaking. The first few weeks are focused on creating monotypes, and then moving on to the various methods of intaglio printing. The first week of class focused on light field monotypes.
A monotype is a printing technique that produces unique prints that, unlike most forms of printing, cannot be exactly duplicated. Light field monotypes are created by painting printing ink onto a non-porous surface, and pressing paper onto the plate. After the initial print, the artist can add or subtract ink from the plate and create an additional image. This process of reworking and printing is what makes monotypes so unique.
I created two prints of waterlilies. The first print had a dark background with lighter lily pads. For the second print I added more ink to the lily pads, and splattered some solvent on the background for some texture.

Kool-Aid Yarn

A couple weeks ago I spent the day dyeing yarn in my crock pot with Kool-Aid. I have used this technique before, and wanted to share! I started my experiments last year after seeing this tutorial from the do stuff! blog. The idea is to use a crock pot as the dye vessel instead of a pot of boiling water on the stove. Dyeing yarn this way is easy, but it takes some patience... and is highly addicting!
For this skein I used pink lemonade, black cherry, ice blue raspberry lemonade, orange, and two packets of lemonade.
This was my first attempt from a year ago. I followed the article's instructions closely, down to the color/flavor choices (although I might have used cherry instead of strawberry.)
My next dyed skein used strawberry, grape, and orange. Blending colors closer together in the color wheel produced a more subtle variegated yarn. The orange and grape worked well to create a less intense color. I used this yarn to knit a slip stitch lace scarf.