Periodic Table Printmaking Project

The periodic table printmaking project is up at the William Penn Charter School in Philadelphia, so if you are in the Philly area please stop by. http://azuregrackle.com/periodictable/table/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/azuregrackle/4415192883/in/pool-periodictable http://www.flickr.com/groups/periodictable/ I worked on rutherfordium and did a monoprint with Caron d'Arche watercolor crayons. Experimental at best like rutherforduim, created by among other methods bombarding plutonium with neon. Since this is the stuff science fiction is made of, I made the print to look like a page from a 1950s comic book. Russian and American researchers both laid claim to the element which was called kirchutovium for a while by the Russians, until a truce was decided and both men honored. Anyway, this is not my best work but the table looks fabulous with it in.

Shell - Plexiglass Drypoint

Here is my first attempt ever to use plexiglass as the plate medium for intaglio. I haven't finished printing this little edition yet. The plexi was really inexpensive, I got a big sheet at a hardware store and cut it to size.

Details:

• 5x7 inch plate
• Arches cover paper
• Daniel Smith inks & modifier

Fun to sit out on the deck and do, one good thing about plexi is that you can take it anywhere to work on it really.

Spring!

Another spring with flowers, leaves and beaches! It is about 70 degrees and sunny today, a record breaking spring day! I don't do many flower images but here are two clay relief etchings, "Tulip" and "Iris", to herald the new season. (I am creativly challenged when it comes to naming my work.) These are printed a la poupee, the plates are colored with ink prior to printing. This technique is a bit more challenging that coloring after printing when you can "color in the lines".

Sea Sea Sea

This one is for artist David Jien out in CA whose print I have yet to hang on my wall. Have you been on my side of the world of late David? Who else writes such deep messages on walls?

The surf today is spectacular, normally I would put art up here rather than photos as I can't claim to be other than a snapshot taker. But the scenes are art-worthy! The sea wall is about 20 feet high.

New WIP - Intaglio Snail Print

I finally created enough of a hole in the mess in my art room to use the table and press. AND I actually went in and played, I talked myself into a 15 minute session and it expanded to a little bit more.

The intaglio snail print I worked on is a WIP, not finished yet. The lines in this are very fine so I need to play with the ink a bit more to get it just right. Ink used was Graphic Chemical oil-based "mud" old ink scrapings tossed into a big jar and mixed. I cover with water to store so no hard dried surface scum forms.

If you note the clips, my EZ-no-space drying system consists of 3 long curtain rods that are on the wall. I can put small pieces like this on one clip, or hold large pieces with multiple clips.

2010!

Warning: Persons with coulrophobia (fear of clowns) may wish to avert their eyes. WOW This century, this decade! Years ago the government promised cheap commercial fusion reactors making energy from seawater by 2020. Only 10 more years to go and I can get rid of the oil tank in the basement, turn the heat up to 75 degrees in the winter, down to 60 in the summer and throw out all environmental consciousness with my winter clothes. So are we on track? Or have the ideas mutated into a non-feasible happenstance like my Killer Clownfish from Under Sea? Killer Clownfish From Under Sea is an original hand pulled print using oil based Graphic Chemical inks on Rives BFK paper. The plate was inked using both intaglio, relief and a la poupee methods and printed on a press. He is pretty nasty, isn't he!