Lhotka - Digital alchemy: printmaking techniques for fine art, photography, and mixed media

Printmaking techniques for fine art, photography, and mixed media

Digital Alchemy: Printmaking techniques for fine art, photography, and mixed media
Bonny Pierce Lhotka

New Riders
1249 Eighth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710
510/524-2178
510/524-2221 (fax)

Find us on the Web at: www.newriders.com
To report errors, please send a note to

New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education.

Copyright 2011 by DASS, LLC.

Project Editor: Nikki Echler McDonald
Development and Copy Editor: Jan Seymour
Production Editor: Hilal Sala
Indexer: Karin Arrigoni
Cover Design: Mimi Heft
Composition and Interior Design: Kim Scott, Bumpy Design
Media Producer: Eric Geoffroy

Notice of Rights

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission for reprints and excerpts, contact .

Notice of Liability

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it.

Trademarks

All DASS products are trademarks of DASS, LLC. Digital Atelier is a registered trademark. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book.

ISBN 13: 978-0-321-73299-6
ISBN 10: 0-321-73299-5

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Printed and bound in the United States of America

This book is dedicated to my mom and dad, who are no longer here to see it reach
completion. Their creativeness in finding value in junkyards, collecting useful
ephemera, and frugality learned during a lifetime of running a small business have
directly impacted who I am today. Thanks Mom and Dadthis ones for you.

Bonny Lhotka graduated from Bradley University in 1964, where she majored in painting and printmaking. In 1986, she added a Macintosh computer to her studio tools, and today continues her innovation with new approaches to her work.

Her artwork is commissioned by, or is included in, several hundred collections including Consumer Electronics Association, Lucent Technologies, United Airlines, Johnson Space Center, Vestas, Crickett, Qwest, U.S. Department of State, Charles Schwab, the City of Denver, Wells Fargo, The Boeing Company, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and a large number of private collections. Her work is shown internationally and appears in numerous books and articles featuring experimental media. She is listed in Whos Who in American Art and Whos Who of American Women.

In 1997, Bonny organized Digital Atelier: A printmaking studio for the 21st century at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and was an Artist-in-Residence there for 21 days. She is the recipient of the Smithsonian/Computerworld Technology in the Arts Award.

Bonny worked with a group of curators to help them envision the potential of digital printmaking in Media for a New Millennium, a work-tank/think-shop organized by the Vinalhaven Graphic Arts Foundation. As one of three artists of the Digital Atelier, Bonny was invited by Marilyn Kushner of the Brooklyn Art Museum to show a selection of work and demonstrate how to create and combine original digital prints with traditional printmaking and photographic processes.

Over the past decade, Bonny has continued her work as an experimental artist, inventing new processes, materials and technologies, and combining them with classic fine art materials and techniques. Aside from many one-artist exhibitions, she is in demand as a speaker, educator, author, and artist. Recently, she has worked with major corporations to explore fine art applications for their products. Within this book, Bonny assembles a collection of those techniques that you can add to your own studio.

Time is a fluid medium to be manipulated the same as paint. My art explores the continuum of time. I gather images by looking closely at them in an historical aspect. I look for surfaces that reflect the passage of time. Creating the equivalents in paint and pixels is a process of exploration as I allow the spontaneous layers of painting to dictate the direction of each piece. By layering images, I integrate meanings that invoke a response by the viewer. By looking at the past and responding intuitively, I explore the future by applying knowledge of the present. I use deep rich color to express my excitement over the process of creativity. I reinterpret everyday objects from the past and present to create new meaning. Some of these objects are from flea markets or the remains of my own earlier work.

Through life, I gather memories and communicate my emotional response through the use of textural surfaces, real and implied. My art is a continuum. It is a nonidentical reflection of who I am. Each day adds to and changes my past. My art is who I am. Without it I would cease to exist. It is a passionate and compelling reason to live. It is the excitement of not knowing what new image will appear that takes me to the studio. Each day is a gift. I paint for myself and hope someone else gets my message. It is like sending a message to the universe hoping someone will see.

This book is the product of many years of my own research and development, but it wouldnt have happened without the additional efforts of a great team standing behind me.

Id first like to thank my son Doug Lhotka, who took my rough thoughts and shaped them into a logical whole that I could submit to Peachpit Press. He kept me focused on organizing 20 years of experiments and inventions, and kept me from adding new ones as we were writing. He knows my work and how I think, and he has always been an honest sounding board (and great ghost writer) for my creations. Without his help, advice, and attention to detail, this book would not be in your hands.

Doug and I would both like to thank Jan Seymour, Nikki McDonald, Glenn Bisignani, Mimi Heft, Hilal Sala, Kim Scott, and the rest of the Peachpit crew. They took our manuscript and turned it into the gorgeous book you hold in your hands. Their efforts made this a wonderful creative process, and Ive learned to respect their talents and advice.