New Growth.

Languishing is a word being used a lot to describe how people are reacting to the effects of the pandemic. I reckon, at least in the area of art, it fits me pretty well. There is sort of a numbness in my creative self that I'm not used to. The latest article I read about languishing said that at some point, doing something is better than nothing, just to kick it to start.

    So, last week, in absence of the motivation to make something new, I figured I may as well at least work on technical problems in the meantime. I also had an aha moment when I realized my excellent student worker could help me with some of the heavy lifting (literally). So, after a two year period in mothballs, we fired up the litho shop.

    Our goal is to get a successful print, even if it is just a simple crayon drawing. 

    And then, last night, I dreamed that two snake plants, one healthy and one in a broken pot growing out of only an inch or two of soil improbably packed at the top of the pot and the bottom completely empty, both very quickly grew long vines that arched over and joined to make a new plant in the space between them. I was very happy to watch it happen and see the new life begin.

I'm taking it as a good sign. 

 

See what I mean?

Litho news

   Well, I tried flying by the seat of my pants today and did not get off the ground. The ink I am using should be a mix of an extremely stiff kind of litho ink called Senefelder's, which is named after the guy who invented the process, and roll up ink, which is very viscous. At the moment, I don't have any Senefelders, and I tried to compensate by substituting Charbonnel ink and changing the ratio of the two. The ink has to be very stiff in the end, but I ended up with what amounts to ink soup. So, I just blew $50 on a can of ink, and I'm hoping the 2-3 day shipping doesn't cost another 15.
    I did get my asphaltum replacement mixed up, though, and my stone is etched. As soon as I get the Senefelder's I'll be ready to see if it worked.

Litho News: Etching Chart

                                    

       Ta Da! My etching chart! The numbers at the top refer to the hardness of the crayon used to draw the column. Number 5 is the hardest and lightest and 00 is the softest. They vary because of their grease content, I think. #0 and #00 are a different brand of crayon from the others, which accounts for the abrupt shift from #2 to #0.

    The gradations looked pretty good to me when I took this pic, but now that I'm home and can't look at the stone directly, I'm not so sure. I guess I'll find out tomorrow. If anything, the top values are a bit too dark. But I swear, I was barely breathing on the stone with those crayons. I think it is mostly the photo balance here, and also because the stone itself is beige. So, the gradations might be less noticeable in this photo because the lens is picking up and blending in the color of the stone. I hope. Because going lighter is a no hoper.

      I also got the etchants measured and mixed. The strongest ones will etch the darkest values. 

      Next, I have to mix my roll-up ink. I don't have exactly the two kinds of ink I need, so I suppose I'll have to fly by the seat of my pants a bit. What else is new?

Litho News

   It was another busy week. There is a surprising amount of paperwork that comes with the beginning of the semester. That is kind of new. I used to be able to count on coasting with no grading for a few weeks. Assessment duties have made that less true.
    So, I've only made meager progress this week, both on setting up the litho shop and at painting.

   Starting with litho, this is our stone library, minus Jabba (size discrimination!), temporarily housed on a counter in my classroom. I have two picked out to start graining, named Lilly and FeeFee. Both are 11"x13". Because they will both be grained at the same time, against each other, I'll end up with two stones ready for drawing. One will be used to make an etching chart and the other will be a drawing of some sort. I might do that torus knot again. We'll see.

   My other bit of progress was that I got my grits in order. We are so lucky to have so many of the traditional materials on hand that are still used in the Green Litho process. The grits are iron filings, ground to different levels of fineness. The lower numbers are more coarse than the higher numbers. The #100 will be used first to level the stone. That is the most time consuming part. After the stone is level, it is just a matter of a few cycles at each grit to polish the surface. 

   I'm not crazy about these shakers, but, I got the lot for $2 at the Dollar Store. I'm worried they will be a bit tippy. They'll get us started, but we might have to invest in something a little fancier for the job.

    I've never gone past #220, but I saw a litho this summer in Cleveland that had a texture like velvet, it was so fine. The #5 on the end is much finer than the others. I'm looking forward to seeing if I can get a texture like the one I saw at the Cleveland Museum of Art. I sure with I had bought a print of that litho.

    Tomorrow, one of my jobs is to see how level Lilly and FeeFee are. Then on Tuesday, we'll see if my graining setup works.

The Cricket Sang

     I just realized that I had assumed a causation between the cricket singing and the sun setting in Dickinson's poem. It just goes to show you that I grew up on cartoons and fanciful interpretations!

     Anyway, here is my final litho from the Green Lithography Workshop at the Zygote Press in Cleveland, Ohio.

     Even though I had to speed through drawing this, and I see lots of things I wouldn't let my students get away with, as far as ease of printing, this is my best litho yet. And, bonus! This time, I actually started to understand the science of this process. Rebekah, an artist in residence at Zygote, was an excellent teacher. There is a definite parallel between traditional litho and the green techniques that were the focus of this workshop, so besides the cutting edge green methods, Rebekah kept dropping these little pearls of wisdom about how to solve little problems that have vexed me for years. She is an old artist in a young person's body. 

     Now, I can't wait to get back to my classroom and start graining and exploring the press. It's going to cost a little bit to get this shop up and running, but in the end, we'll have helped keep litho alive for a new generation of students, and they won't lose their teeth in the process! ;) I'm going to have to try and wring some funds from my department, somehow. There must be a grant with my name on it somewhere.

The cricket sang,

And set the sun,

And workmen finished, one by one,

Their seam the day upon.

The low grass loaded with the dew,

The twilight stood as strangers do

With hat in hand, polite and new,

To stay as if, or go.

A vastness, as a neighbor, came,--

A wisdom without face or name,

A peace, as hemispheres at home,--

And so the night became. 

Emily Dickinson

Silver Lining

    Well, the press did not get fixed in time, but lucky for our class, our teacher arranged for us to print at the Cleveland Institute of Art's state of the art litho shop. Not only did it have two Takach presses, but it was air-conditioned, which was a particular blessing on a steamy printing day like last Friday.