Arthritis

Arthritis (series) (top: current state )  intaglio  plate: 12x16, paper: variable

I started this etching series thinking of the wood panel pieces I made earlier this year. Much like how sanding into plies of wood and glue creates an object/image, the process of drypoint (sanding and scribing), etching, and aquatint also creates an object/image. The main difference being that the final image in intaglio comes from the inked surface of that object.

This series was very much a reactive process whereby one image begat another in response to what came before it. I was not aiming at an end point image, and I do not consider this series finished. It will go on as long as the plate holds up to the abuse. This may take quite a long time, but the point is that with the process of intaglio, one does not need to stop working or responding just because something seems finished or resolved. It can go on and on and on until the plate has been eroded away.

I enjoy this process very much because it allows me to take "snapshots" with each working- and state-proofs. I should mention that no editions were made for any of the states. One or two prints were taken for each state and I moved on. In this way, no state is more or less important than any other.

Scale Sketch for "Over..." Project

Over...(scale sketch)  screen print on four papers 396x54 (dimensions will vary)

This is a sketch of the Over... Project that I've been working on. The size of the tags are to scale. However, the overall shape of the piece and spacing of the tags may change. At least this roughly gives a sense of the area that I'm working with. I just couldn't see in my mind what 5,000 dog tags would look like, so I burned a screen and got to work pulling prints. I've ordered about half of the dog tags and the wire that they will hang from. So when they come in I'll have a better idea of what this piece will end up looking like.

I had originally intended to put this on a much taller, vertically-oriented wall (which would have changed it's proportions to something more like 5/6), but it's good to see on a wall like this because finding tall walls (30 feet or so)  has been difficult. I may have to modify ...Over to the space(s) it ends up in.

In my critique, the possibility of this becoming a traveling exhibit came up. I like that idea. There was also a suggestion that it might change from site-to-site. I like that, too.

Lid

Lid intaglio 3.5 x 7 (image size) 17.5 x 11 (paper)

Last semester's etching class allowed me to further concentrate on my experiences in Iraq. The class was geared more towards process and less about getting perfect editions so that we could see how an image evolved on the plate as we worked it. My most recent paintings have been executed in a somewhat similar fashion in that they begin as one thing and become something else. And what results hopefully has just as much to do with a sensibility that I'm trying to get across as the imagery itself. Lately I've been giving more thought as to why, exactly why, we feel one way or another when we look at an image. I've also started to question whether it's necessary at all for me to have anything recognizable in the work in order to have a conversation with the viewer. But I'll have more on that in later posts. Initially this piece was an image of a retransmission base on Sinjar Mountain, but at the end the image became something else entirely. I called it Lid because that's what came to mind as I worked on the plate. It seemed that as I took chances with the plate, the image informed me that it could be something other than what I was shooting for in the first place. So the image changed and I went with it, but to me it retained the sensibility that I was going for. Anyway, I won't try to taint anyone else's interpretation of what it is about to me by explaining further. I think you get the gist. Below are images of how the plate evolved.

scanner bed collages3

I received the first copy of the book I created of these scanner bed images titled "Outcrops" using blurb.com, but unfortunately the colors are dull and dark and not what I was hoping for. And right now I don't have the time or money to correct this. So instead of providing a link to a book that doesn't look very good, I've decided to just post the rest of the images here. Given my experience with printed reproductions of art, they'll probably look better on a computer screen than they do in print anyway. And that's alright because I'll most likely use these for some abstract paintings in the near future. So no harm, no foul.

scanner bed collages2

A small sample of some more scanner bed collages that I made for a digital printmaking class. My task was to make a book of at least 20 pages with any content I saw fit and publish it through a company called blurb.com. Since I was pleased with the scanner bed images I made before and also the process of making them, I decided to use the same process with these. The theme I chose for my book was "geology in outcrop form." Prior to making these I had gone out to the Valley and Ridge and took a ton of pictures of various outcrops of varying degrees of deformation. I noticed that what thrills me most about the outcrops was not the type of rock it was or how old it was but rather the shape, color, and texture of the beds - their formal qualities. And while these pieces don't exactly mimic any particular outcrop, I hope to the viewer they reveal some of the attributes that one might find while exploring roadside geology. In a few weeks I'll have the book, titled "Outcrops", and if it passes inspection, then I'll post a link for those who might want to purchase it. This coffe table book is 8x10 inches and will feature 20 of these collaged abstractions.

Etching

Thank you for not praying etching and drypoint on paper 9x12

A print I did for the etching portion of my printmaking materials class. It's somewhat related to an article I read about how many hotels were removing the Gideons bibles from their roooms. It's interesting to think what might happen to hotels without bibles. Would all the meth lab rats, lustful adulterers, rowdy rock stars, and slithering prostitutes and their johns no longer frequent these foresaken establishments now that the bibles are no longer there? And without all of that activity, would these places slowly wither away, soulless and forgotten? Well, maybe not, but food for thought.

scanner bed collages

This is a series of scanner bed collages (all ~11x15in) that I did one night in the digital print lab using my hands and various objects fished out of the recycle bins. Scanners have  a particular way of creating an image. They don't capture everything at once like a camera but rather in a slow, sweeping scan, which allows for "repeats", "smears", and "glitches" of objects in real time (as opposed to doing that stuff in photoshop). The most enjoyable part of making prints like this is the improvisation. You can make multiple variations of one image in very little time. I think I was able to make about 50 of these prints (most of them duds)  in about 2-3 hours or so, which is pretty quick. The only things you have to watch out for are fingerprints and getting blinded by the scanner head as you try to scan things in. I'm going to make a few more of these in my free time to see what new tricks I can learn. It seems there's a lot of ways to experiment with these scans.

Oil and Turbines

Oil and Turbines linocut reduction relief print 7.5 x 11 $50 ea.

For our final project in printmaking we had to create an image that dealt with the themes land, sea, or air. I chose sea and wanted to do something pertaining to a current event either in my personal life or in the news. So after wrestling with an image (I went through several), I ended up with this one. And obviously it's about what's going on in the Gulf of Mexico. It looks like despite our best efforts that mess will take a very long time to clean up, and many aspects of coastal and ocean life, both natural and human-related will be greatly affected.

Sultry

Sultry lino cut 8x10 $45 ea.

Here's another print. This was a collaborative project where the drama department gave us a written description of an unidentified character's body position and we had to interpret it and put it into a context of our choice using a linoleum block print.

binding ties

binding ties monoprint 20.75x15.75

The following four posts are pieces I made in my printmaking class. Just about everything we've done has been a big departure from my usual mode of image making. I am very much a planner, and so I generally do not embrace spontinaeity until after I have a compositional structure in mind. Very rarely are my paintings and drawings done on the fly. However, in my printmaking class, we are encouraged to build the image as we lay the different elements down. Although this process has caused me some frustration at times, letting go of that control and working as you go can bring about some interesting results that may have otherwise not been produced. In most of these prints, risks were taken that would have been avoided had I planned it out. Some of them have some craftsmanship issues such as improper registration and variable clarity in the pronto plate pieces, but for the most part I like them. I think breaking from the norm is a good way for me to push myself (and be pushed) in order to see different ways of making work and solving the various problems that come along.

Burkas2

Burkas2 monoprint 7.75x5.75 $75

Monolith

Monolith monoprint 13.5x13.5 $75

Monolith2

Monolith2 monoprint 11x16.5 $200