Printmaking II Portfolio
In Printmaking I we investigated relief printing in the form of woodcut and lino cut as well as intaglio printing through collagraph and drypoint. In relief printing, the artist cuts or etches away part of the plate and prints what remains of the original flat surface. Intaglio is the opposite and complementary process to relief. The image is cut or etched into the plate and then ink is forced into the lines below the surface, which is kept clean. Dampened paper is then forced into the lines and lifts the ink away, creating the image.
Printmaking II builds upon this knowledge by introducing etching. B.U.'s print shop focuses on non toxic and low toxicity methods, so we use Ferric Chloride as an etch, and make our protective hard grounds and aquatints with acrylic which cleans up in washing soda.
In addition to learning a variety of techniques, each student developed a conceptual theme that they worked through to create a personal, cohesive body of work. The styles and images are as varied as the individuals who created them.
Steve Gouthro
Associate Professor
Department of Visual and Aboriginal Art
Faculty of Arts
Brandon University
1. Lauren Bell, "Evolve 2", aquatint, 8 1/8 x 7 3/4", 2009
For her series Lauren derived abstract patterns from close investigation of commonplace objects viewed close up. "Evolve 2" starts with the concept of ripples radiating in water. The fine particles of acrylic that are sprayed on the plate to create the aquatint tones are degraded by pouring the clean up solution onto the surface of the plate. It is then etched in the ferric chloride solution to yield a surface that gives the impression of corrosion and the decay of time.
2. Lauren Bell, untitled colour photoetching, 7 x 9 7/8", 2009
Here the artist began with a transparency from a close up view of a stone that was modified in Adobe Photoshop. It was transferred to a copper plate using photosensitive blue Imageon emulsion. The Artist's choice of the dark blue ink for the intaglio, and the light blue for the relief surface, gives the impression of looking down on a river delta from a satellite on high.
3. Pamela Carlson, "Arranged View", etching, 7 7/8 x 6", 2009
Pam Carlson is a young woman of European heritage who was raised in Saudia Arabia. Her prints focus on the views of women and possessions in the Arab world. "Arranged View" depicts the Stencil patterns that are used to decorate the hands of betrothed women. Yet the gesture in its stark simplicity has a cautionary impact as well.
4. Pamela Carlson, "A Mother's Unwanted Path for Her Daughter", photoetching, 4 x 7 3/4", 2009
The title here draws parallels between women and camels as possessions.
5. Alison Cooper "Form Two", drypoint on plexiglass, 8 x 6 1/4" 2009
Alison Cooper's series began as an investigation into the formal qualities and the emotional and visceral responses that can be derived from various pathogens. While some images derive from microphotographs, "Form Two" is totally invented. In drypoint, the artist scratches directly into the plate and inks and prints from that. The abstract forms evoke bacteria reproducing, or internal organs.
6. Alison Cooper, "Form Five 2 Colour", photoetching 5 1/4 x 6 7/8", 2009
This image is based on a micro photograph altered in photoshop. The deep red colour is intaglio with the transparent yellow-orange relief rolled over top.
7. Sarah Elliot, "The Bastard is Learning to Conduct", etching with aquatint and pochoir, 4 x 6 7/8", 2009
Sarah's prints deal with the struggles of identity of a young Caucasian woman born and raised in Japan coming to terms with her North American roots. She must learn to reconcile her dual nature where she feels like an alien in both countries. Sarah started this print with a line etch and then developed the rich tones of the cosmos with aquatint. The colour was added using the technique of pochoir (fine art stenciling).
8. Sarah Elliot, "Hello, My Name Is" etching, photoetching with colour relief, 7 7/8 x 4 7/8", 2009
This self-portrait includes a photo reproduction of the identity card that Sarah carried in Japan as a resident alien in her place of birth.
9. Joy Gwamna, "Kiss of Death", etching, 8 1/8 x 5", 2009
Joy Gwamna's prints focus on her father who was a victim of political assassination last year in Nigeria. "The Kiss of Death" depicts Death as a beautiful woman calling her prey with her sweet deadly voice.
10. Joy Gwamna, "dad", photoetching, 8 x 7 7/8", 2009
This memorial to Joy's father is based on one of the last formal photographs taken of him.
11. Brittany Higgens, "Purity", etching and aquatint, 9 3/4 x 6 3/4", 2009
Brittany chose to work with flowers for their symbolic associations and aesthetic qualities. "Purity" combines abstraction with more natural representation in rich blacks and greys of aquatint to create a dramatic contrast between the white flower and its melancholy surroundings.
12. Brittany Higgens "Fascination", photoetching, 7 7/8 x 4 7/8", 2009
The rich subtle blacks of this photoetching create a beautiful chiaroscuro as the distant roses fade into obscurity.
13. Susan Knowling, "Watching", etching and drypoint with aquatint, 4 3/4 x 4", 2009
Susan has been fascinated by the ravens that she encounters daily on her farm. They are creatures of great intelligence with complex social structures. As such these birds have symbolic import in many cultures as well as appearing in art and literature. For this beautiful print Susan uses the evocative textures of drypoint, scratched directly into the copper to suggest the bird’s feathers. The granulation of the aquatint spray subtly conveys the sky of a winter's night.
14. Susan Knowling, "Aesop's Raven", drypoint on plexiglass with colour relief,
6 1/4 x 7 1/8", 2009
This image depicts the bird of Aesop's Fable raising the level of the water in a jar with stones so that it can drink, illustrating resourcefulness and industry as keys to survival in life. The intense pink adds an abstract note of colour.
15. Kate MacDonald, "Accessible", photoetching with woodcut, 6 3/4 x 6 3/4", 2009
Kate's series of prints critiques various aspects of the human impact on the environment and looks towards solutions…. "Accessible" features an image of a wooden walkway imposed on a scene of a beautiful wild river near her home in Tthompson. Kate remarks that in opening up the area for the sake of accessibility, it leaves the landscape spoiled by the detritus of uncaring users. In the print the choice of the fibre filled paper gives the feeling of raw nature, while the blunt woodcut forcefully conveys the heavy handed human presence on the landscape.
16. Kate MacDonald, "They Have Eyes But Cannot See", experimental variation of "Vision for a Sustainable Future", photoetching with relief roll and stamping,
6 1/4 x 6 7/8", 2009
In this print, Kate drew directly on the transparency to combine a photographic and drawn self-portrait. The artist's irises are recycle symbols, while the green stripe alludes to a hope for a greener, more environmentally conscious world. The Biblical quote reminds us of the need to be aware of what goes on around us.
17. Brandon Poliquin, "Regret & Reconciliation", aquatint, 7 7/8 x 9 5/8" 2009
In his work for this course, Brandon seeks to convey the impact of emotion on personal experience through his use of tonalities with expressive calligraphic mark making. In "Regret & Reconciliation" we look through the veil of hair at the face of the sorrowful young woman, and beyond that to the glimmer of ambiguous light in the black void that suggests a half realized hope or a hovering memory.
18. Brandon Poliquin, "Forlorn", etching, photoetching, and Chine-colle, 2009
In "Forlorn" a woman walks away from a single segment of orange on a windy day. The viewer is positioned down on the ground with the uneaten fruit, giving a feeling of lonely abandonment. The orange colour here is a piece of coloured tissue (with embedded flax seeds to give the tactile sense of the orange pips) that has been laminated to the print using Chine-colle, a collaging method whereby the paper is glued to the backing sheet as it is run through the press to make the print.
19. Ann Rivera, "Aphrodite of the Brandon Hills", etching, 7 3/4 x 5", 2009
Ann's series place historic depictions of women as goddesses, young girls on the edge of puberty, and fertility symbols in the local prairie and urban environment. The incongruities of these placements give us cause to reconsider our own relationship to this world and to see it with fresh eyes. In "Aphrodite of the Brandon Hills" the beautiful Greek goddess is embowered in the protective branches of the wood. The green ink helps to convey the fertility of the forest.
20. Ann Rivera, "East Victoria Ingenue", photoetching, 9 3/4 x 6 7/8", 2009
This print which juxtaposes the little ballerina by Edgar Degas with the Brandon Hydro Plant contrasts the innocence of youth with the harsh reality of industry. The images were combined in photoshop. The charcoal grey ink conveys the smoke of industry.