Christine Medley - Printmaking

Copyright

Copyright 2020 by Christine Medley All rights reserved.

Bibliographical Note

Printmaking: How to Print Anything on Everything is a new work, first published by Dover Publications, Inc. in 2020.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Medley, Christine, author.

Title: Printmaking : how to print anything on everything / Christine

Description: Medley. Mineola, New York : Dover Publications, Inc., 2020. | Summary: Before our age of digital printing and automation, printing was done by hand. This book shares those time-honored techniques, using easily obtained supplies and items that can already be found right in the home, including cardboard tubes, cork, and rubber erasers. It shares a very easy and accessible process of relief printing, which basically means creating a stencil, inking it up, and applying the stencil to the item, then repeating. These 12 easy-to-follow projects range from decorating a gift bag and making a set of coasters to transferring an image on to a mug, printing on a T-shirt, and more. The book starts with an introduction to the tools and equipment needed, then jumps right into the projects, illustrated copiously with photos throughout Provided by

Identifiers: publisher. LCCN 2019041825 | ISBN 9780486837192 (trade Subjects: paperback) LCSH: PrintsTechnique.

Classification: LCC NE860 .M43 2020 | DDC 769dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019041825

Manufactured in the United States by LSC Communications

83719X01

www.doverpublications.com

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2020

The Space Between

The only thing that matches Chriss talent is her ability to teach others. Chris showed me how printmaking develops artistic vision in a way nothing else can.

Printmaking is an accessible art, something anyone can do, yet even a veteran artist cant control every aspect of the process.

For beginners, that means they can make something really special without the years of practice some artistic disciplines require.

For the experienced artist, the process of printmaking will always present a challenge, because the artist can never control every aspect of the craft.

But with that loss of control, something wonderful happens. Printmaking has the ability to provide serendipity like no other artistic endeavor. Only film and the theater might compare.

The artist simply cannot control exactly the way the ink will lay, nor every detail of how the texture of the paper will react.

So it creates a gap of control. A space between the artist cant touch. And the beauty that happens within that space can be shocking.

In the world of computers where you can control every pixel, this process can be a revelation for the artist who has become accustomed to that level of control. I was trained in traditional media but became a designer working primarily on a computer for twenty years. Then I experienced personal tragedies and lost interest in creating art.

Printmaking allowed me to create once again. It was the perfect therapy, being easy to access yet endlessly challenging.

Seeing the surprises revealed, as I pulled away the paper, taught me that the greatest things in artand in lifemight just happen in the space we cant control.

Getting comfortable with letting the good and the bad happen as it will has had a directly positive influence. It taught me on a deep level where words and thoughts cant reach, that while I cant control everything, beauty still exists.

You can imagine my debt to Chris for maintaining a studio open to the public and teaching me in her unique way.

As a student, I found Chriss calm nature gave me plenty of space to create, yet when needed, shed communicate pointed and confident instruction, knowledge born from a lifetime of consistent effort and boundless passion for the discipline.

It has been a privilege, Chris. Thank you.

Figure 1.1

Stars printed from a sliced star fruit

Printmaking, Printmakers, and DIY

The maker movement is here and going strongcrafters, artisans, designers, inventors, artists, workshoppers, and DIYers (do-it-yourselfers), with or without artistic backgrouds, all creating, designing, upcycling, and making fun, original, decorative, and inspiring things. Printmaking: How to Print Anything on Everything is for anyone who wants to make. So why printmaking? Printmaking in a nutshell is about creating multiples and pressing images on to a wide range of surfaces and materials. It can be simple and direct with a seemingly magical result. The reward in printmaking is peeling back a sheet of paper to see what image has emerged. It is satisfying, surprising, and full of happy accidents. Printing on paper, textiles, and a variety of objects allows for the maker to print multiples to keep, give, and sell. It is process-oriented and allows for experimentation and invention. Just like following a recipe, you can follow the basic print process, but add your own style to taste.

Printmaking can be an easy and approachable process applied to a variety of projects, which makes it appealing to makers of all ages and backgrounds. The processes and projects in this book, starting from easy approaches and ending with more advanced techniques, do not require any experience or expensive equipment. To keep the project expenses low, household items and inexpensive materials available at the local crafts stores are used as much as possible.

In this chapter, a basic tools and processes introduction explains the types of printmaking and builds a foundation of terms with an overview of what is needed to make a print.

, you will be prompted to refer back to your creative toolbox.