CONTENTS GET INTO PRINTMAKING MATERIALS AND COLORS STAMPING PRINT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGGIES TEXTURED STAMPING IMPRESSIVE FOAM CARVING LINO LEAF IT SHAPE COLLOGRAPHY POCHOIR SCREEN PRINTING ONE OF A KIND PUT IT ALL TOGETHER LEARNING MORE GLOSSARY INDEX AND ABOUT THE AUTHOR 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 31 32
GET INTO PRINTMAKING Read this book with a sense of adventure It is designed to unleash the creativity that exists within you The projects in this book will help you express your feelings your thoughts and your ideas through your art When learning to make prints enjoy the process and don’t worry too much about the finished product To make it easier all the projects in this book can be done by hand-pressing Find your own individual style and run with it MINI-BIOGRAPHIES Throughout the book you will find mini-biographies highlighting the work of well-known artists You can learn a lot about printing techniques by looking at great works of art Experiment with the techniques the artists used Examine each artwork to see how its parts were put together and how symmetry types of lines and color were used 4 WHAT IS PRINTMAKING Printmaking is the art of creating an image on one material and transferring it to another The artist carves the image into the first material which is called the printing plate A plate can be made from wood linoleum cardboard foam or many other materials including vegetables Next the artist applies paint or ink to the plate Paper or fabric is pressed against the plate so that the image is reproduced Prints can be made by hand pressing as you will be doing or by using a hand-powered printing press Finally the plate and the paper or fabric are separated Printing plates can be used over and over again When professional artists make a batch or series of prints from one plate they write the number of each one in pencil at the bottom of the print on the left For example print 2 15 means it is the second in a batch of 15 prints The artist’s name goes at the bottom on the right The print title and date may be added as well
main types of printmaking Prints can fall into one of several categories relief printing A relief print is a raised image created on a flat surface This is usually done by cutting away areas that are not part of the design The raised areas or ridges are covered with ink or paint but not the grooves When it is printed it is a mirror image of the design The relief printing technique is similar to using a rubber stamp The most popular examples of this style of printmaking are woodcut and linocut intaglio Intaglio means engraved work in Italian The technique is the opposite of a relief print A design is cut into the printing plate Ink or paint is rubbed into the grooves and the surface is wiped clean Then a heavy press is used to transfer the image made by the inked grooves Bridge linocut 1960 by Margret Hofheinz-Döring Today intaglio is used in printing currency banknotes and passports lithography In lithography an image is created directly on a stone or metal printing plate using oily materials The area around the design is treated with water-based materials When ink or paint is applied it sticks only to the design because oil and water do not mix The plate is very durable and can make many prints This technique invented in 1796 is a popular form of printmaking today A 1903 lithograph by Charles Marion Russell shows The Last Custer Fight in the American West serigraphy screen printing Serigraphy is a way to create an image by pressing ink through a fine screen which has some areas blocked off by a stencil The stencil can be made from paper fabric plastic or even leaves This technique is also called screen printing Screen printing does not require any type of press ALBRECHT DÜRER 1471 1528 Germany Albrecht Dürer was a master of the woodcut which is a type of relief printing The first woodcuts were crude because it was difficult to carve hardwood Dürer however was very skilled at painting and engraving He used many different carving tools such as chisels gouges and knives to create fine lines and intricate details in his woodcuts His work influenced many other artists Albrecht Dürer made woodcuts of coats of arms 5
