REVISITING EXPERIMENTAL PRINTMAKING TECHNIQUES

"Lightening Up"

I've always been in love with printmaking.  At Montana State University as part of my curriculum in Applied Art, I studied a number of printmaking techniques. Intaglio, Woodcut, and Linocut were some of my favorites.  Later I studied with Michi Osaka, a wonderful printmaker, who delighted in "happy accidents" on her commercial press.  We combined Japanese rice paper collage with carved linoleum block printing, relief roll, embossing, monotypes, collagraphy and direct sumi painting. We experimented with etching, aquatint, serigraphy (silk screen) and so many techniques I don't even remember. I had heart palpitations in anticipation of what was rolling off the press, which we hand cranked, by the way. Intoxicating!  But then I stopped to build a house, move, and with all the time, energy and aggravation required in getting resettled, I let it simmer for a time.  Pastel won my heart for the next 25 years with an occasional affair with printmaking.  After selling our house, going on our second year's vacation from home ownership and embracing apartment living, I'm back to the printmaking party!  I took a class in combining pastel with monotypes and fell in love all over again. And here's a sample of my newest experimental printing technique with help from the sun. I hope to do a lot more dining room table/balcony art in the future.  Life is just full of surprises and "happy accidents."