Science, Art or Magic?

There is a great attempt to explain the similarities

and differences between art and science in this 2016

article which appeared in Forbes.

But couldn't we just accept as fact 

that certain things are best explained by

 MAGIC?

Last fall I played with eco-dying and enjoyed making prints on paper from the leaves I collected on my hikes.  I turned these sheets into covers for notecards and happily sold every one that I made.  But there was a fair amount of "slippage," those attempts that failed, misprinted, didn't make color or for some reasons became a page that fell short of artistic use.

So this year I decided to dive deep into scientific research conducting various experiments and recording my findings.  So out of my nature! But let's eliminate the misprints, ok?

I set up 3 different mordants (the liquid soak that prepares the fibers to accept the color) labeling them and giving each test paper the same amount of soak time.

I divided my leaves by types and included a few I'd never tried. (Not all botanticals will leave a visible print with this steaming method.) Oak was always a challenge but I decided to include it in my attempts.

Three different mordants, 2 kinds of cotton paper, several leaf types (pressed previously), a steaming pot outside and I was in business, er, science lab mode.  

Wow!  Look at that oak, that geranium, that batista and those maples...on a roll: sumac, sassafras and beech.  Dump the vinegar soak, eliminate the ammonia...I was ready to rock the next day with 100% success.  Papers prepped I went to bed exhausted but smiling for the success to come.

I was rewarded, above.

I was disappointed, above.

I was confounded, above.

None of these are ghost prints, the print bleeding through the paper or the mark left by the "top" of the leaf (best prints come from "ground side down" on the paper). And not an oak to be seen.  Whaaaa?

So I made adjustments in pressure (the vise or stones or blocks that hold the bundles tightly together). I varied the timing of the "cool." I stood on one foot and I sang out loud.  Everything STILL came out in about the same ratio of great : good : blah.  

My conclusion? MAGIC.

I did not record where I found each leaf, the soil conditions it grew in, the altitude it lived in...in my heart I know that these are all contributing factors to whatever hides deep within the tannins et al that leave the mark I covet.  I'm not that into research.  And frankly I like the fact that there is a part of this that I cannot control, it makes opening the steamed bundles quite exciting.  Some phenonmena can be explained and some things are best left to magic.  

I rest my case.

MAGICALLY IN AWE,

Cindy

Block Prints Require Testing?!

Ever since I met Andy Farkas, learned about his

craft and (swoon) acquired one of his prints, I have been

anxious to try printmaking.  Of course I dream of starting at the top

 but for once I decided to start at the lowest

 possible level of dabbling: the rubber block print.

Remember when I showed you how easy it was to craft a print out of the styrofoam tray under your fruits?  The next step is to carve from a rubber pad or a piece of linoleum.  So having had success with styrofoam I knew it was but a few short steps to Farkas-quality, right?

The top two carvings are done on small rubber-ish pads and then glued to a piece of wood to make them easier to handle.  The bottom pink pad is uncarved, look for these at Michael's or any art supply store.  The carving on the bottom right was done on linoleum, a much harder surface to carve but still easier than wood, plexiglass or metal.

Now remember my haunting lesson on test tiles?  Well, there needs to be an entire chapter on test tiles in the world of block prints....but I didn't take that class, did not read that book so I learned that lesson the hard way: experience.

These are the tools used for carving.  One was inexpensively acquired at a craft store, one was a bit nicer and bought at an art supply store and the fancy one on top was inherited (with a sharpening stone) when a friend weeded out her notions.  

Draw out a design and move it to tracing paper so that you can see how it fits on the block.  Remember that what you carve will be reversed when printed so you can flip it over if you want a different orientation.  Transfer to the block either with tracing paper or, on the rubber, going over the design with a very soft pencil and then rubbing that mark onto the accepting surface of the rubber.

Now the fun of carving.  Slow and patient.  It's almost meditative.  Two very important things to remember: you can't easily put back something you cut off AND your design will very likely change slightly as you carve away.  Spend some time thinking about what will show up as ink and what will show as paper.  You can see very faint lines in my paper drawing reminding me what to cut out.

Water soluble printers ink is used and I use a foam tray to roll it out on.  With a brayer (a rubber roller) ink the design.  You may upend the block to print or place the paper on top of it.  I tested both.

This makes it easy for me to use my fingers (or a clean brayer) to press down and be certain that the ink has made contact with the paper in every spot.  Then the paper is peeled back for the reveal:

oh yuck....not a very smooth print but something I have learned is not unexpected with a first run.

So that is just one reason "test tiles" become important...I can see that either I did not ink up enough or I missed the smoothing part.  So above is another test.  On the L I put the paper on top of the carving, on the R I turned the carving onto the paper.  Hard to see the difference on this photo but there is some change.  Notice anything else?  

I don't like my blank parts...they are too smoothly carved out and leave no tell-tale lines which would be more interesting especially around the stars.  I dug too deep in my judgement.  And?  look closely.

Where the mountain intersects the moon is a triangle that missed being carved out!  And ditto for the mountain edge on the far left.  How many prints did I make before I noticed this?  Luckily I can go back and re-carve between prints.

Thank goodness I "tested."  Another interesting test is varying the paper used to print on.  Some are so stiff they don't meet my needs at all, others too flimsy to last.  Finding the right paper is crucial and  one should save that for the last test so that you do not use up all "the good stuff" on bombs.

different papers, note the clean brayer in photo

Like Goldilocks and the three bears, this one is "just right." I made a mental note that I prefer the "white space" to be more interesting in future blocks but otherwise this printed well on the paper I used.  

So I'm like a reformed addict: test! test! my friends...and test again!  no, this is not the end of the story.  For someone who hates "do overs" it is ironic that my word "festina lente" implies a bit of slowness as one gathers steam.  When I explained Maggie's test tile approach (last weeks blog) to a friend, she summed it up nicely: "She goes slow so she can go fast."  Yes! Onward.

GOING SLOW,

Cindy