collagraph

my last project in printmaking was a collagraph. i wasn't a big fan of the process at first, but i've grown to like the odd details you can get from very few light marks. for the first print, i started with a thin piece of particle board a painted the background pattern with gesso (canvas primer and glue substance). i then glued on an m&m wrapper. i finished the plate by cover the wrapper with gesso and tamping my brush on large gobs of the stuff to create the pouring effect. inking the plate takes quite a bit of time. the goal is to spread ink across the surface and get it into the recessed surfaces and then wiping away the ink from the raised surfaces. it's time consuming. but it looks nice when it's all over with.

the assignment was to explore the theme of memory. the majority of my class explored specific memories about vacations, family, etc. i wanted to be a little less obvious with mine. my thoughts were about how memories dissolve like sugar in water. it's there... but rather diluted.

my second print is a monoprint AKA one of a kind print. i need to make six of them in total, so stay tuned for that. my first monotype was complete experimentation. i took my plate out into campus commons and attached a bunch of grass with gesso. there wasn't really a great way of achieving this that didn't rely heavily on the use of my hands. i made quite the mess. after allowing my plate to dry, i inked the plate similar to my collagraph, but then i used a brayer to put different colored ink onto the raised surfaces.

i wasn't completely satisfied with the finished project, mainly because it didn't work exactly how i thought it would... but how often does that happen?