The Printmaking Process: The Ceramic Print

I am attending the Southern Graphics Council Conference: Global Implications in Chicago from March 25th to 29th. Columbia College of Chicago is hosting the conference this year.

Today, I attended the Ceramic Print demonstration at the Art and Design Center at Columbia College. Tom Lucas, director of Hummingbird Press at Lillstreet Art Center, and Matt Harris, ceramicist and instructor at Lillstreet, demonstrated the techniques for printing on ceramics. Tom showed us the photocopy transfer process, and Matt demonstrated screen printing directly on clay and a slip-newsprint transfer process.

Tom mixes special ceramic ink with a modifier.

Tom applies and then wipes off gum arabic from
a photocopy print, and then inks and sponges it
carefully several times without tearing the paper.

Tom applies the print to damp slip with a terra
cotta base, and carefully burnishes the print.
Here he begins to peel off the print.

Several prints can be laid on the same ceramic piece.
Tom applies heavy blue ink to a wood block he
created with silk screening and sand blasting.

Tom creates a new image on top of an old
one (center) by using the wood block (below).

Matt demonstrates screen printing directly
on the damp slip and terra cotta base.

Matt also demonstrates transferring a screen
printed image on newsprint to clay. Here
(clockwise from center right) we have the results
of the two methods: (1) direct screen print on
clay, (2) screen print on newsprint with wet slip
applied, dried, and then used to transfer to the
clay, and (3) the transferred image to the clay base.

Ceramic Print Demo Samples

Ceramic Print Demo Samples

Ceramic Print Demo Samples

Ceramic Print Demo Samples

For more information on classes and workshops on printing on ceramics and the ongoing Ceramic Print Group Exhibition, contact Lillstreet Art Center, 4401 N. Ravenswood Avenue, Chicago, at 773.769.4226, email: lillstreet@lillstreet.com.


Photo Credit: All photos by Amy A. Rudberg, unless otherwise indicated.

The Printmaking Process: Two Lithuanian Printmakers

Photo: Courtesy of the artists.

Eglë Vertelkatë and Birutë Zokaitytë are Lithuanian artists who combine traditional and contemporary printmaking techniques to explore gender, cultural, and social issues and identities. Their current exhibition at the Chicago Cultural Center (CCC) through March 29th was organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs in collaboration with the Ciurlionis Lithuanian Gallery and with support from the Consulate General of the Republic of Lithuania.

Eglë and Birutë, both born and raised in Lithuania, met at the Vilnius Art Academy in Lithuania. Although they have participated in group exhibitions with one another over the years, their current show at the CCC is the first time they have exhibited together.

"I work with traditional printmaking techniques, such as etching, aquatint, deep etching, woodcuts, and combine them with digital prints, drawings, photo copy transfer prints, and collage. I consider myself to be a conceptual artist using printmaking techniques. I like to work with other artists' images -- Cindy Sherman, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray, Eadweard Muybridge, E.-J. Marey, and others. My focus is on subjects such as infinity and repetition (spinning, eating, running, working, walking, and so forth) and creating postmodern art with different interpretations of images and personalities. I work with themes that are interesting to me -- artists, nature, and cinema -- anywhere in the world, regardless of the culture, nation, race, or age." --Eglë Vertelkatë

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2006. A Target, Infinity In Dots.
Etching, stamp, 70 cm x 85 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2005.
Face Vs Face (Cindy Vs Cindy).
Etching, mixed media, 25 cm x 140 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2006. Horizon.
Mixed media on canvas, 55 cm x 120 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2006. I.D. Of Shell.
Digital print, mixed media, 60 cm x 220 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2005. Lilly Vs Wave.
Etching, aquatint, mixed media, 25 cm x 100 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2007.
Lithuanian Polifonic Folk Song.
Book A4, digital print.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2006.
Lithuanian Polifonic Folk Song II.
Etching, mixed media, 15 cm x 42 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2005-2006. Lux Life.
Etching, aquatint, 90 cm x 180 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2006. Swimming Woman.
Digital print on canvas, 80 cm x 150 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

Eglë Vertelkatë. 2004.
When Cindy Sherman Reflected, Man Ray.
Digital print, mixed media, stamp, 20 cm x 50 cm.
Courtesy of the artist.

"My works for the show are from my most recent series, The Rituals of Women, depicting their social and cultural roles and identities. I work primarily with traditional techniques such as etching, aquatint, mezzotint, soft ground, and dry point, and combining those techniques with collage, stencil, and photo copy transfer prints. I am always inspired by my environment." -- Birutë Zokaitytë

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2000.
Beautiful man.
Soft ground, 40 cm x 40 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2003.
Map of the moon.
Soft ground, aquatint, 40 cm x 60 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2003. molecule of love.
Color etching, soft ground, aquatint, 80 cm x 50 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2000. Salomeja (2).
Soft ground, 40 cm x 40 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2000. Salomeja.
Soft ground, 50 cm x 70 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2008. The crew.
Soft ground, 62 cm x 62 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2002. The picture of the bedroom.
Color etching, soft ground, aquatint, 40 cm x 80 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2003. Trying to fly.
Color etching, aquatint, 40 cm x 60 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2003. Trying to fly (2).
Color etching, aquatint, 40 cm x 60 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

Birutë Zokaitytë. 2009. Perfection.
Soft ground, 62 cm x 62 cm.
Courtesy of the artist. At CCC.

The Printmaking Process: Pasta Machine Printing at Lillstreet Art Center

This winter I’ve been taking the Intermediate / Advanced Printmaking Workshop at Lillstreet Art Center in the Hummingbird Press Studios. We’ve been working mainly with the etching process, which involves drawing on a protected metal plate, immersing the plate in a chemical bath to “etch” or cut the drawing into the plate, cleaning and then inking the plate, and, finally, printing on paper.

Instructor Julian (left) and students Maya and George
working at the print table

Julian helping Maya (turning the press wheel) with her
chine collé etching (putting Japanese paper on a print)

Examining the print

Student work this semester (left to right)
Light, No Starch by George Bodmer
The Magician by Amy A. Rudberg
Organic Object Series by Maya Durham
Goddess Series by Diana Kast

Our instructor, Julian Cox, who is an artist, printmaker, and director of One Horse Press (the printmaking department of Evanston Art Center), has lived and worked in the Chicago area for the past 20 years. He teaches printmaking classes at One Horse Press and the Lillstreet Art Center. Today, he demonstrated printing with a hand-cranked pasta machine. He suspects he may be the very first person to have ever printed with a pasta machine.

Printing with a Pasta Machine

Materials:

- Hand-cranked pasta machine (Imperia brand or whatever is available)



Clamp the pasta machine to a flat surface.


- Soft, resilient printmaking paper (Graphic Chemical heavyweight paper or Rives BFK), measuring about 4¾ inches by 5½ inches

- Felt pad, 1/16 inch (obtained from a printmaking supplier or a felt blanket used under a Christmas tree)

- Etching ink (tube of Renaissance Black Etching Ink or similar ink obtained from a printmaking supplier)

- Several small etched plates that will fit in your pasta machine (about 2½ inches long by 3 inches wide). Copper or zinc plates are generally used.

Steps:

1. Tear paper to the correct size and soak in water for at least 10 minutes.

2. Crank the felt about 1 inch into the machine.





3. To test embossment, set the machine to No. 3 to start. Put the etched plate on top of a piece of dry paper, and then put the layers on the felt (plate facing you) and run them through the machine. Push the layers through the rollers with one hand as you crank the machine.



Use setting No. 3 to start
and adjust as necessary.




Put the image side of the plate down and
centered closer to one end of the paper.




Crank the machine and start feeding the end with
the plate closer to one end of the paper.
Push the layers down with your other hand.




Write notes on your embossed paper.


4. Once the desired embossment is achieved, ink and wipe your etching plate, and blot the printing paper.



Ink the plate with black etching ink and wipe
excess ink with a tarlatan (stiffened fabric).




Blot the soaked paper between blotting paper with
a rolling pin or use towels.


5. Repeat the process of feeding the layers of plate (image side down, plate facing you, and closer to one end of the paper)and blotted paper through the machine.



Be ready to catch the plate and printed image as
they are released from the machine.


6. Tear off any excess paper. The printed image can be dried between sheets of paper with a weight on top so the print dries flat.



Plates on top and prints below

Julian is the head juror for Hand Made Prints, a show presented by One Horse Press, on Saturday, March 28th, running concurrently with the Southern Graphics Council (SGC) Conference. One Horse Press is located at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes Street, Evanston, IL. Gallery hours: Monday-Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Phone: 847.448.8260.

Tom Lucas, the founder and director of Hummingbird Press, is part of the group exhibition The Ceramic Print, running concurrently with the SGC Conference, in the Lillstreet Gallery at 4401 N. Ravenswood Avenue in Chicago. Office/Gallery Hours: M-Th:10-7:30 p.m., F-Sa:10-6 p.m., Su:10-5 p.m. Phone: 773.769.4226.


Photo Credit: All photos by Amy A. Rudberg unless otherwise indicated.

The Printmaking Process: Jennifer Thomas

As part of my research on printmaking, I visit artists working in the studio setting and ask them about their materials, methods, and practices. Some of these artists are participating in the Southern Graphics Council Conference: Global Implications in Chicago from March 25th to 29th. Columbia College of Chicago will be hosting the conference this year.

I went to visit Jennifer Thomas' studio in the Butcher Shop Building on West Lake Street in Chicago. Jennifer teaches graphic design at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago and spends about ten hours a week in her studio. She shared her techniques for screenprinting with pulp as well as inaugurating the printing process on her new-old Charles Brand etching press, manufactured about the 1930s.

Screenprinting with Pulp

Jennifer will be demonstrating screen printing with pulp at Columbia College as part of the SGC Conference. Pulp printmaking involves creating pulp from finely beaten cotton paper, adding water and special pigments to the pulp, creating an image on a silk screen, putting the screen on a sheet of handmade paper, and then using a garden sprayer to spray the pulp over the screen. The end result is a highly textured image on paper.

Putting a screen of a bird image
on handmade paper.
Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas.

Spraying liquefied and pigmented
pulp from a garden sprayer.
Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas

Removing the screen and
inspecting the image.
Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas.

Samples of experimental images
using different sprayers.

Jennifer Thomas. 2009. She longed to travel.
He should never have let go. Screenprinted
pulp and letter press on handmade paper.
Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas.

Etching and Chine Collé

Jennifer said she bought her press on eBay and on the day I was visiting, she planned to use her etching press for the first time using her etched image of a trailer on a zinc plate. Etching usually involves using an acid or chemical to "etch" or cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface. In chine collé, usually Japanese paper or light paper is bonded to a heavier paper in the printing process.

Etching of Trailer #10 on a zinc plate by
Jennifer Thomas. She put a ground (for protection)
on the plate, drew the image with a metal tool, put
the plate in an acid bath (to cut the image into
the plate), removed the plate, and removed the ground.

Inking the plate with black etching ink

Using a tarlatan (stiff fabric) to wipe off ink.
The ink goes into the lines of the drawing.

She put the plate image side up, put paper on top
of the plate, and hand cranked the press to send
everything through the press.

Plate (top) and first print (below)

For the chine collé process, she first cuts Japanese
kozo paper for areas she wants to add color to
on the print. She uses the plate as a model.

Spraying the kozo paper with water and later
adding methylcellulose as a glue

The pre-pasted kozo paper is laid
glue side up on the plate. The
printed image is put on top of
the plate and everything is sent
through the press. Plate (top),
print (middle), and chine collé.

Jennifer Thomas. 2008. Trailer #3.
Etching with aquatint and chine collé.

Fun and Games

Jennifer will be discussing and playing with her board game / artist's book I Do (I Don't) at the SGC Conference on Saturday, March 28th.

Jennifer Thomas. 2008.
I Do (I Don't).
Handmade paper and letterpress
printing. Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas.

Jennifer Thomas. 2008.
I Do (I Don't).
Open game board. Handmade paper
and letterpress printing.
Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas.

Jennifer Thomas. 2008.
I Do (I Don't), detail.
Handmade paper and letterpress
printing. Photo credit: Jennifer Thomas.

For more information on Jennifer Thomas and her art, go to Veronica Press on http://www.etsy.com.

Photo Credit: All photos by Amy A. Rudberg unless otherwise indicated.