Back to Gallery Printmaking
Printmaking is the method of duplicating images from a previously prepared surface. There are many different printmaking techniques. The first is monoprinting, which allows only a single image to be produced from a flat printing plate. The picture on the plate can be painted or drawn on a plastic or linoleum surface, and then a piece of paper is put over top of the plate, rubbed on to absorb the image and finally results in a print. Wood-block printing and linoleum-printing are also common types of printmaking. These methods use carving to create a design on either linoleum or wood and then ink is applied to the surface with a brayer. There are many examples of linoleum-printing in this gallery, as it is one of the more popular media in high school art programs.
A collagraph is a unique variant of printmaking that uses textured materials. Shapes can be cut out from cardboard and other objects can be glued on to a separate piece of cardboard used to produce the print. Found-object printing presents the opportunity to experiment with a variety of items. These miscellaneous objects are covered in ink, such as india ink stamping in Miriam Severson's Goose piece, and then pressed onto paper to create a print. Silkscreen printing is an original method of printmaking that applies a screen pulled across a wooden frame. Blocking fluid can be used to paint the design onto the screen, and then a squeegee forces the ink through the screen onto a piece of paper.
Other forms of printmaking include etching, a style that uses engraving into metal with a stylus. The stylus is applied to scratch lines through a heavy acid-resistant wax coating put onto the metal plate. The plate is then placed in an acid where it eats away at the metal where the wax had been scratched off, leaving an area ready to print. Lithography is the final option that a printmaker can choose from. It was traditionally done on limestone, but is now made on aluminum or zinc. The image is freely drawn with a grease-based drawing tool, etched and chemically reacted until there are distinct areas that will receive ink when the print is produced. Although this gallery only features a few printmaking methods, each piece of work shows intricate techniques used to produce a successful print.
Sara Caissie
