the new press, and my first edition

My press came! I am so excited to finally have it... even though it was a Christmas gift, it was ordered in November, so it's really been quite a wait, full of much breathless anticipation. The box was very heavy, as the press and the board it comes on are about 100 pounds, but we managed to get it up to the apartment and opened. Our two cats helped, of course. Kitimer was especially enthusiastic about the unwrapping.



Then we set it up, which was really incredibly easy. I was expecting a struggle! Basically, all we needed to do was screw on the handles of the star wheel and move it on the board, so it was closer to the edge. Here's Daniel working on screwing it back to the board after we moved it.



Once the press was in place, I set up the blankets and ran about 5 prints testing the pressure. I was expecting it to be harder to figure out, but it was really an easy process. The first prints were very light, so we just increased the pressure until they were dark enough. Simple enough!

Yesterday I set up a print drying rack that Amie Roman recommended to me from Sherrie Salida's blog. While it's not the exact setup she had, it's very close and such a wonderful option for those of us with little space! With a drying rack in place, and a functioning press, I was ready to print a small edition of my test plate. I ended up with an edition of 9 and 3 artist's proofs.





I was also relieved to find out that the process is not at all too messy to be manageable in our hallway. Cleanup was easy and quick. All in all, it was a great first day with my press! Tomorrow I'll be working on a piece from my portrait series, and printing a couple of extra plates I have been working on a bit. Should be another fun day.

mother and child

I'm basically finished with the test plate for my press... at least, as finished as a person can be without ever having printed the plate! The image is a simple one, my wonderful cousin-in-law and her gorgeous new baby, and though it's not something I would normally make, I had a great time working on this print. I used a recycled plate and was mainly working it up as a test, but it turned out with a sweetness I wasn't expecting, so I think I may print up ten or so.

It's tiny, just 2.5 by 3 inches.



This photo is of the inked plate, as that's all I have to work from at present! One of the major challenges for me in etching is being able to see what the heck I'm doing on a plate... especially one with various techniques... the light off the polished and grooved zinc can get a bit confusing. I've been trying to ink this plate with every major decision, so I have a more firm idea of what exactly is going on.

I'll be preparing paper this evening. Since I've only ever printed in printmaking facilities, I'm expecting tomorrow will entail a LOT of trial and error in getting the pressure right and everything set up and ready.

the delivery company called...

My press is coming tomorrow! Between 11 am and 1 pm. Yay!

new series, times two

Since there was a 4 month delay between the ordering and delivery of the press, I had a while to think about what I would print. I already know that I work best in a series... I almost never am able to fulfill my interest with a subject in one picture, so a series offers me the chance to more fully explore topics from a variety of emotional angles. I also like to have more than one set of ideas to work on at any given moment... so that if one thing just isn't working, I can focus my attention on something else for a while.

I decided on two open ended series. One will be portraits of peace leaders and activists, and one will be a continuation of a naturalistic iconography that I was working on in my most recent paintings. The portraits will be on 8" by 10" plates, and the naturalistic images will vary in size and shape.

I'm really looking forward to both projects, for very different reasons. The portraits present several challenges that should be a lot of fun to address... those of likeness, of emotion, and of relevance to the subject's message. The naturalistic series involves the challenge of translating ideas that I've been working with in paint to the medium of printmaking. I know that I'll have a lot of failures along the way, but I am excited about these series and about the work involved in making the finished products that I've had in my mind for so long.

For me, with printmaking, it is very much about the joy of the process. I know that I have much yet to learn about etching, and I am looking forward to those lessons.

Below I've attached the first of the portrait series (it's just a pic of an inked plate, not a print) in a very early state. It's Aung San Suu Kyi, although the likeness will hopefully evolve more as the plate progresses. I've also included images of a couple of my paintings.

Happy printing!

preparing for the press

My press should be arriving some time either this week or next. I am so excited! I live in a little apartment with my husband, so space is an issue, as is the fact that we have no garage / basement / other source of space where ink and acid wouldn't be a problem. Our apartment is 2 bedrooms, a living room, hallway, and two bathrooms. My husband's office is in the spare bedroom, and I don't want the press in our bedroom. I want to keep the living room available for company and hanging out. That leaves the spare bathroom and the hallway... so, that's where the press and acid bath will go!

Our hallway has a built in desk, which I've been slowly re-appropriating as an etching nook. First, my husband and I covered the walls and desk surface with a heavy duty drop cloth, to protect them from any ink. Fortunately, etching ink is very stiff and doesn't spill, so it's really only fingerprints and used wiping cloths that the surfaces need to be protected from. Next, we set up all the supplies I'll need, including plenty of newspaper for using underneath the messier aspects of etching. All that's missing now is the press!



For the acid baths, we're using our spare bathroom. It has a big window and an incredible overhead fan, so it's wonderfully ventilated. We store our mixed acid in a plastic jug, and only pour it into the acid trays when I have a plate ready to bite. That way, we can keep most everything under the sink unless I'm actively printing.

The only thing I haven't quite figured out yet is where I'll dry the prints.....

about this blog

Hi, and welcome to my blog! I created this page to be a record of my adventures with my very first etching press, and as a space to share ideas and images that I'm working on.

I first learned etching when I was 19 and studying in Florence, Italy, my junior year of college. Our wonderful professor, Swietlan (Nick) Kraczyna, introduced myself and two other students to the various processes of etching, ranging from aquatint to mezzotint to drypoint to the more complicated multi-plate color etchings. Our studio was a centuries old stable, across a small courtyard from the Il Bisonte printmaking school. We worked for several hours each day, and after a few false starts and failures, I felt a connection to the process. I finished the year making portraits, learning more about the technicalities of the medium, and developing a real love for the visual language of etching.

A couple of the prints I made that year:





After returning to the states, I enrolled in a printmaking class for my final year in college, and struggled with finding the same feeling from the process that I had in Italy. Short classes, limited access to the presses, and strict assignments all contributed to making the class less of a passion and more of a duty. I left college still loving etching, but less hopeful about applying that love to my real life in some personally useful and meaningful way.

A course in graduate school restored some of my passion, although access to presses was still an issue (students signed up for time slots, and they were often full), and as a candidate for am MFA in Painting, I always felt like a bit of a guest in the printmaking studio. I missed the freedom of using a press whenever I wanted, and of making countless foolish, ugly mistakes without embarrassment. That year underscored the point that for me, the mood of a studio can be as important as its facilities.

After school, presses were harder to find, and seldom open for public use. My husband and I moved a few times, finally settling in a smaller town on the coast of Washington state, where press access for those not involved in school is simply not available.

For Christmas this year, my parents bought me a Conrad 12" etching press. I was (and am) so excited. Because they make each press one at a time, it will be arriving some time either this week or next. The opportunity to practice etching in my own home, any time I like, with my own materials and my own ideas, is a wonderful luxury. I am grateful to them for the gift and the opportunity, and am looking forward to exploring etching once more, on my own terms.