The Printing Press

I have been working with gelli plates, lots of color and found object stencils. I have learned how to create my own gelli plates, but these plates were bought from Gelli Arts. The paints are acrylic, brand is Amsterdam which offers lots of bright colours and is very affordable.

Also a new adventure I have been on is teaching. I have been teaching with Ladysmith Arts and Nanaimo Ceramic Arts. Check out one of my upcoming workshops: https://www.nanaimoceramicarts.com/service-page/march-printmaking-collage-workshop-1?referral=service_list_widget

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Series of 7. 3 did not make the cut. 

Listening to a video by Polly Morgan who uses dead animals to create a new outlook on death. While her work can be disturbing to some I find it quite unique. 

3 plates

So I’ve decided to rethink my project. I have been so unhappy with the subject matter that I feel like I am forcing myself to complete something that I just don’t enjoy. As an artist this has been really difficult for me to find a balance between what I want and feel good about vs what I think I want and what is expected of me. 

I’ve decided I need to end this semester on a good note. So I am going back to the bugs. Like the worm plate I did earlier this semester, I am working on something I enjoy that is still different from my original work. 

Working with monotype. 

I’ve been inking my copper plates with etching ink and then placing down material to block out areas. When I run it through the press I get more white areas with a high contrast background (pictured above). I will then either place down a new plate such as a plexiglass monoprint and roll through the press for a multinplate or leave it as is. 

My aunt who is an artist based in Toronto heard about my new work on ‘dead animals’ and suggested I look at the work of UK artist Polly Morgan. Her work is really amazing. I know people look first at her work as grotesque but there is something very peaceful about it. 

That is a sentence you have to be careful who you ask. I am continuing on with my ‘dead animal’ project. But finding said animals is proving a challenge. Today I spent a lot of time on the phone trying to find places that I would be able to access. I don’t want to use photos from the internet because I find that the photos are not my interpretation and I just don’t feel as an artist I am being true to my work. So today I contacted 3 places.

District of Nanaimo, Animal Control - Good news, the did offer to contact me when an animal was found. Bad news, they would not let me view it myself. They offered to take photos and send them to me, but for safety/health reason once the animal was picked up it was sent away. I found out however, that animals (wildlife) that were found on the side of the road are considered property of the province. In order for me to view the animal I would have to take possession of it and for me to do that I would have to obtain a permit from the province. They also provided me with information on places where there is unfortunate illegal dumping of animals. Which is super sad to hear but it does happen. So I am going to check out those places later on this week. Overall, they were super nice and seemed interested in what I was doing. It did not seem odd to them that a student was wanting animal carcasses. Apparently they do release them to VIU departments that have permits.

District of Lantzville- Wow. I have never been so disappointed in where I live. I explained the reason behind my need for animal carcasses and they were just not having it. These people need to lighten up a bit. I will say that I did get one small piece of good info out of them and that was they suggested that I contact the Regional District of Nanaimo Landfill. So not all way lost.

Regional District of Nanaimo Landfill- These guys were awesome! So I called and they offer tours of the landfill, but because I was looking into something specific I was transferred to the wonderful Chad who gave me the low down on animal disposal. He said when an animal comes in they go into the landfill and get covered up instantly. This is for health/safety reasons. They are unable to uncover them after that unless it is a legal matter (police invovlement). But there is good news! He did say that I would be able to view the animal! They usually get given day before notice if an animal is going to be coming in. So he would let me know. I would have to be there when the animal came in, grab a few photos and then the animal would have to be buried straight away.  Hooray for Chad!

Prepping 2 plexiglass plates

I’m using watercolor crayons to create the image. The more completed image has dish soap on it which has created a bubbled look. 

I am going to be printing 3 plates.

1. Plexiglass

2. Copper plate with texture etching

Decided to refocus my project back to my original idea of using monotype.  

Conspiracy to commit murder

After attending the printmaking with recycled materials workshop in Victoria, I decided to give the techniques a try. Definitely a new learning curve for me. I find it very hard to wrap my head around the linocut style and figure out what you want to scrap out and what you want to keep. I’ve used styrofoam and woodblock ink. 

Workshop with April Caverhill

aprilcaverhill.wordpress.com

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Today I attended the Printmaking with Recycled Materials workshop at OPUS. I have to say that I have been very closed minded when it comes to printmaking . I have not strayed away from copper plating which has caused me to have artist block. I’ve been struggling to work on a new copper plate for a few days now. I feel pressured to work on something but I have no joy in doing it. I don’t want to ruin my plate and waste time. This workshop was enlightening. It gave me a new perspective on printmaking and it also helped with reactivating  my mind. 

Artist April Caverhill used styrofoam as her ‘plate’ and speedball woodblock ink for this workshop. While very simple, the design can be quite intricate. She talked a lot about experimentation, layering and using these techniques with others. 

One thing I loved about this workshop was the use of recycled materials. There is something very relaxing about using materials that are not expensive. Knowing I can make mistakes without a fInancial consequence makes the stress less.