Cardstock Collagraph Workshop

Last Saturday, I led a Cardstock Collagraph workshop at Studio Two Three, a community printmaking space in Richmond, VA. I taught this technique of printmaking to art teachers of Richmond Public Schools last Fall and the teachers created some amazing work, too.

This technique of printmaking is super simple, but can produce very awesome results. Making a cardstock collagraph is basically cutting out designs in cardstock and gluing them to another piece of cardstock. You can cut out the shape and rearrange it, print backgrounds, print multiple times, change the colors, etc. Having the opportunity to teach this class again and experimenting with it made me realize that it's even more creative and fun than I first thought, and the simplicity of making the plates freed me to be more spontaneous with it than I usually am with, say, linocut printing. I also learned a lot about different techniques to try from the participants in the workshop - just one of the perks of being a teacher. Students in the class were very creative and really jumped right into it. They created some amazing stuff! Sorry that I can't credit every print with the artist's name, but I did  when I knew the name of the person who made it. Take a look!

 I created the grassy background for this one, and a student used it as the backdrop for her Alice in Wonderland rabbit! Next to this print, Chris Pool worked on a simple and elegant design for a vase of pussywillows.

Here you can see how artist Sarah Watson used the same grassy backdrop for her flying fish garden. Love the surreal image! Local jeweler Kim Young did the skunk/hummingbird/dewdrop-boy print, and experimented with changing around the positions of each of these delightfully unrelated (yet somehow fitting) images.

 This kite print is so powerful!

 Elegant elephant.

 That rabbit again (and again, and again.)

 

More elephant love by Emily Yeatts!

I will be doing a follow-up post showing step-by-step how I create a collagraph print. Keep a look out!

Moth Screenprint

Last Wednesday I made use of my summer membership to Studio 2 3 and completed a 2-color screenprint! I really enjoyed using the studio, hanging out with other printmakers and seeing them create their artwork while I created mine. I am now inspired to make more screenprint editions. I enjoy the process because I can paint with ink directly onto a sheet of mylar or acetate and then create the screen using the drawing. I might post a little step-by-step to show you what I mean for further editions.

Here is the completed screenprint! I used gold and brown ink. I actually editioned two versions. The first version is on the left, and it shows my original intended image. Version #2 on the right shows a slightly off-register image - I printed the brown slightly to the left of the gold moth. You can see it a little better in the detail photo. I made an edition of 29 for Version #1, and then halfway through I decided I liked how it appeared off-register because it made the moth look more like it was fluttering in motion. Version #2 has 20 copies.

 

This past Saturday was The Golden Moth Release Party at the Blue Elephant. It went well! I was very nervous before the party, even though most people who came were friends who I had no reason to be nervous over. But it was the first time I publicly released the deck for other people to take home with them, so there is always some anxiety before presenting my artwork to an audience. I will post photos and write about the event in more detail very soon.

Today I went to the post office and sent off 24 packages! More will keep rolling through the postal system throughout this week and next. Whew! I can't believe that it's really going out into the world! I feel relieved, as if I am finally coming to the end of the road. But I know that putting this deck out into the world is just the beginning. It is a way of reaching out to others, and I don't know what other surprises await me. While the process has been difficult in some ways, it has taught me a LOT. I plan to write more about what I learned from it all, and also share some advice for people who want to start their own Kickstarter campaigns.

That's all for now. More soon, I promise.

love,
aijung