Intro to printmaking

INTRO TO PRINTMAKING
“Printmaking is about discovery, about experimentation; art itself is about
discovery and experimentation.” - Brian Jones

WHAT IS PRINTMAKING?
A FORM OF ART THAT INVOLVES TRANSFERRING
INK TO PAPER.

THE PROCESS IS CAPABLE OF MAKING MULTIPLE
COPIES OF THE SAME ARTWORK.

EACH INDIVIDUAL COPY IS CALLED A “PRINT” OR
AN “IMPRESSION.”

THE SET OF PRINTS IS CALLED “AN EDITION.”

A SIGNED AND NUMBERED SET OF PRINTS IS
CALLED “A LIMITED EDITION.”

A BRIEF HISTORY OF
PRINTMAKING
PRINTMAKING
ORIGINATED IN CHINA
AROUND 105 C.E.

DURING THE GOTHIC AND
RENAISSANCE PERIODS
OF ART, RELIEF PRINTING
BECAME VERY POPULAR IN
EUROPE.

HOW ARE PRINTS MADE?

PRINTS ARE MADE
FROM A
“MATRIX” (ALSO KNOW
AS A “MAT”) WHICH
CAN BE MADE FROM
MANY DIFFERENT
MATERIALS.

PRINTS ARE MADE BY
TRANSFERRING INK
FROM THE MATRIX TO
PAPER OR ANOTHER
MATERIAL.

TYPES OF PRINTMAKING
THERE ARE 3 BASIC CATEGORIES OF
PRINTMAKING:

RELIEF - INK IS APPLIED TO THE SURFACE OF
THE MATRIX.

INTAGLIO - INK IS APPLIED BENEATH THE
SURFACE OF THE MATRIX

STENCIL - INK IS PRESSED THROUGH A
PREPARED SCREEN.

REGISTRATION
WHEN YOU ARE MAKING A MULTI-STEP PRINT, IT IS IMPORTANT TO
ALIGN THE PAPER AND THE PRINTING ELEMENT THE SAME WAY EACH
TIME. THIS PROCESS IS CALLED REGISTRATION.

WHAT WE ARE DOING
WE WILL BE CREATING
PRINTS USING
LINOLEUM, WHICH IS
CALLED A LINO CUT.

THIS IS A FORM OF
RELIEF PRINTING. (THINK
OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING
AS CREATING A BIG
STAMP.)

HISTORY OF THE LINO CUT
THIS TYPE OF PRINTMAKING BEGAN IN THE 1860’S
WITH GERMAN EXPRESSIONISTS.

FRANZ CIŽEK, AN AUSTRIAN ARTIST AND
TEACHER, RECOGNIZED ITS POTENTIAL FOR THE
USE OF TEACHING SCHOOLCHILDREN.

THE FIRST MAJOR ARTIST TO CREATE LINO CUTS
WAS ERICH HECKEL IN 1903.

MATISSE AND PICASSO SPURRED THE
POPULARITY OF LINO CUTS IN THE 1940’S AND
1950’S.

MEDIUM OF THE OPPRESSED

BECAUSE OF THE RELATIVE INEXPENSE OF
CREATING LINO CUTS, IT HAS OFTEN BEEN
UTILIZED IN POORER COUNTRIES.

THIS HAS ALLOWED ARTISTS WHO LACKED
ACCESS TO MORE EXPENSIVE PRINTING TOOLS
A MEANS OF PRODUCING PRINTS.

IN BRITAIN, CLAUDE FLIGHT (1881–1955)
ADVOCATED THE USE OF THE LINO CUT AS A
VIABLE MEANS OF EXPRESSION FOR THE
LOWER CLASS.

TOOLS
FIRST YOU NEED A DESIGN! - SKETCH YOUR IDEA ONTO A
PIECE OF PAPER THE SAME SIZE AS YOUR LINOLEUM BLOCK.

TOOLS
TRACING AND CARBON PAPER TO TRANSFER A MIRROR
IMAGE OF YOUR DESIGN TO THE BLOCK OF LINOLEUM.

TOOLS
A SHEET OF LINOLEUM - YOU WILL CARVE OUT YOUR
DESIGN AND USE THIS TO PRINT YOUR ARTWORK.

TOOLS
INK - YOU WILL APPLY THIS TO THE SURFACE OF THE
LINO CUT, AND THEN TRANSFER IT TO THE PAPER.

TOOLS
LINOCUTTING TOOLS AND BLADES - YOU WILL USE
THESE TO CUT AWAY PARTS OF THE LINOLEUM.

TOOLS
A PIECE OF GLASS - YOU WILL USE THIS TO SPREAD THE
INK PRIOR TO PUTTING IT ON THE LINO CUT.

TOOLS
BRAYER- ROLLS INK ONTO THE SURFACE OF THE
MATRIX.

TOOLS
PRINTING PRESS - APPLIES PRESSURE TO THE
LINOLEUM, PRESSING THE IMAGE ONTO THE PAPER.

STEPS
1. CREATE A DESIGN.
2. TRANSFER THE MIRROR IMAGE OF THE DESIGN TO THE
LINO BLOCK. TYPICALLY THIS IS DONE USING TRACING
PAPER AND CARBON PAPER.
3. DARKEN THE LINES ON THE LINO BLOCK WITH A
SHARPIE.
4. CARVE THE DESIGN ON THE LINO BLOCK. THE
UNCARVED AREAS OF THE BLOCK ARE THE PARTS THAT
GET PRINTED.
5. THE LINO BLOCK IS INKED WITH A BRAYER.
6. THE IMAGE IS PRINTED ONTO PAPER EITHER MANUALLY
OR WITH A PRINTING PRESS.

PRINTING WITH MULTIPLE
COLORS
ONCE THE FIRST PRINT IS FINISHED, CLEAN AND DRY THE
LINO BLOCK.

WHATEVER AREA OF THE DESIGN YOU WANT TO REMAIN
THE FIRST COLOR MUST BE CARVED FROM THE LINO BLOCK.

APPLY THE NEXT COLOR TO THE BLOCK AND TRANSFER IT
TO THE PRINT.

REPEAT THIS PROCESS UNTIL LL THE COLORS HAVE BEEN
APPLIED.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO MOVE FROM THE LIGHTEST VALUE TO
THE DARKEST VALUE WHEN PRINTING MULTIPLE COLORS.

PORTRAIT DE JEUNE FILLE,
D’APRÈS CRANACH LE JEUNE. II
(1958) PICASSO

STILL LIFE WITH GLASS UNDER THE LAMP (1962) PABLO PICASSO

MALCOLM X SPEAKS FOR US
(1969) ELIZABETH CATLETT

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Editor's Notes