The Beginning of the End...

This week was really devoted to my exploration of photographs.  Last week, I decided that I was interested in learning the techniques of photolithography and the possibilities of the medium. The first step was to stat with a solid base.

I began sorting through all of the photographs that I had taken of my building blocks when I was at home in New York.  I played with the lightness, contrast, cropping, possibility of color and the size of each image.

 I figured the best way to go about this process, is to create as many photographic images as I can, and then see the amount of photographs I will actually be able to reproduce by the deadline that is fast approaching. 

I also began to look into the idea of printing on wood and am going to discuss this possibility with Ana further, when I go to purchase paper and plates from her today. 

I seem to be really drawn to the images that have the highest contrast and I hope that I can transfer them well enough into the medium of photolithography.

This weekend I plan to make at least three photolitho plates and hopefully print some proofs of each.  I would like to have a solid amount of work by the end of next week because I feel as if I am starting from nowhere, which I am.  I am excited to begin working and always enjoy printing in the studio. 

Blocked Photos

This weeks critique came at a perfect time for me.  I was at a crossroads and really needed some help deciding which way I should start to take my final project.  After completing two photolitho plates of my photographs and a larger drawing, I was glad that I could get feedback on which medium was more successful.

The group seemed to think that the photolitho was the better way to go and I do agree.  I really like the photographs that I took of my building blocks an think that they are very expressive.  My issues with it seemed to have only sprung up because of my lack of knowledge in the area.  Amanda suggested that I expose the plate using different lumens and I didn’t actually know that was possible.  I am excited to start exploring this other side of printing making, as all of my other work has mainly been done using woodblocks.

I would still like to incorporate some element of wood or a surprising material because I feel that photolithography lacks something and I would like to push my photographs further.  I do like the idea of using different colors and different exposures and I plan to look up different artists that have experimented with this medium.

This past week I completed two photolithos plates, as I mentioned before, and printed them on top of each other.  I wanted to see whether a subtle color underneath created a nicer contrast and was happy with the results in only one of the pieces.  I think that the other photograph (of the arch way) was over exposed and too light and unsuccessful.  Janie also told me that I should try and draw a large scale drawing of one of the photographs, split up in the way that I wanted them to be displayed.  I really enjoyed working and drawing because I haven’t been able to work with pencil and charcoal recently.  I liked the drawing but felt that it was not as successful as the photographs themselves. 

(16 hours)

This coming weekend and week I hope to explore the different possibilities of photolithography.  I will look at artists that have used this medium in different ways and will talk to Amanda about the different possibilities.  I am excited to start to learn more about this printmaking technique.  I hope to also look into printing on some kind of thin wood and seeing how that will translate. 

Photolithos

Friday- Friday (1//21, 2010)

This week I dedicated my time to experimenting with different possibilities of printmaking.  I decided that I wanted to see what the photographs of building blocks would look like if I transferred them onto a photolitho plate.  I originally wanted to use my drawings of the blocks, but when I transferred them to the milar, the images were too light and would not have created a clear image.  Amanda also suggested that I use the photographs and then possibly draw on top of them to make them more of my own.  I really like this idea and decided that I would begin by making a plate of just the photographs and then possibly go back later and create a second plate with my own marks.

I began by choosing two of the most successful photographs of my building blocks.  I then printed them to a milar and created a photolitho plate from the images.  Black ink seemed to be the obvious color that I would print in, since I felt that by adding another color I would be adding another unnecessary layer of meaning to my images.  I began to print my images and my plate began to fill with ink very quickly.  I tried to make as many images as I could before I had to stop printing and I plan to try printing more images of the plate this weekend. 

I also would like to see if I could create another plate with my own hand drawn marks.  For Tuesday I hope to have more images of my photolitho plate and possibly make a collage to see whether I should expand the images or not.  I will also see if the images hold up when they are cut into different shapes. 

(20 hours)

For Next Week…

Finish another photolitho plate

Experiment with the images and figure out the best layout and cropping

Sketch more

And… possibly… start to cut into a wood block

On an on

Friday….Thursday 1/13/2010

20 hours

This week was another thinking period for me.  I sketched more of my block arrangements and continued to contemplate how I am going to eventually display them in the gallery.  I also began to carve into a piece of MDF, but I think I may have rushed into it and decided to put it aside for now. 

On Tuesday, I was lucky enough to talk to Seth, Erica, Amanda, and Janie. At this point in my experimentation I think that talking is the most helpful.  I showed them my photographs and the drawings I had done from them.  Seth and Amanda raised the question whether or not I should be doing woodcarvings and more.  They asked why I was so on including it in my final piece.  Other then that I really enjoy working with wood I couldn’t come up with a better answer.  Seth then said something that I really enjoyed, he said woodcarving is something that you do now for fun as play, in replacement of what you did as a child, played with building blocks.  It’s almost like this project is an evolution of my play throughout the years.  I really enjoyed this answer and was thinking about a possible name for my exhibit, which I know is very premature, but I came up with the name PLAY.  Amanda then suggested I try and do a photolitho of one of my drawings for the coming week so that I can see a little better at how the prints are going to turn out.

After my conversation with Seth and Amanda, I was able to talk to Janie and Erica.  Janie suggested that I begin to cut up my drawings so that I can begin to play around with the arrangements of my blocks.  This was a great idea and began to give me more of a visual for my final project.  When I showed these to my small group yesterday they suggested that I continue to play around with the configuration and ultimately draw more and complete a photolitho for this coming week.

For this coming week and weekend…

I plan to complete a photolitho for Tuesday and sketch more of my building blocks.  I will also work with some more configurations of the possible blocks and maybe explore more constructions.

I hope that I will be able to feel more comfortable with starting my woodblocks after I complete my photolitho and begin to start carving soon.

Frame Idea

I was considering putting ornate frames around my prints and wanted to see how it looked.  What do you think?  Does it take too much away from the image itself?  Does it help, hurt, do nothing for my image?

This Short Week and Break

Over break I really started to reconsider my thesis and the work that I had completed.  I was really excited about the prints that I was doing first semester, but after taking a break from them and looking at them all together, I realized they really didn’t relate to my idea of losing childhood memories at all.  This was a huge realization for me and somewhat disappointing.  I decided that I had been more excited about the printmaking processes and therefore disregarded the importance of my topic.  So over break I deeply considered how I was going to make images that relate directly to my thesis and started to think more along the lines of building blocks.  Wooden blocks are something that I played without all throughout my childhood and relate directly to my relationship with my sister and my memories of play.  I then started to actually play with the blocks; I organized them in different constructions and used different lighting to see what would be the most dramatic and appropriate image.  I took a ton of pictures over break and I think many of them are successful.  They really started to look like mysterious buildings with secret spaces and undiscovered corners.  I liked that they were so dramatic and I think that they show a sense of loss and solitude, which I want to begin to display.

After thinking about the actual image for a long time, I began to think about the layout of my final presentation.  I began to imagine a huge image of building blocks split up in to different woodcuts.  They would be displayed in different frames (which I have just found at Treasure Mart, my ultimate favorite store) close enough together that you could see the image when you backed away, but the spaces in-between would again address the issue of loss.  I am excited about this new idea and now I am trying to decide how many prints I can feasibly create by the end of the semester and my show!

(20 hours over break)

(4 hours this week so far)

Below, I am showing the first image that I am focusing on and I feel that the picture itself is very successful.  It is ominous yet sad and I have begun to break it down into different pieces.  I have sketched the images and I hope that I will be able to transfer these to a woodblock soon and begin to cut. 

I have also decided to focus more on the image before I lay it down on the woodblock and hopefully this will make me more successful.  I am excited about this week and I can’t wait to get carving! 

The Critique

Work before the Critique

This week went by in a whirlwind.  While preparing my presentation for Wednesday, I worked, simultaneously, to finish my duck prints.  As I continued to cut into my block however, I began to get more and more frustrated.  The duck wasn’t becoming clearer and I was about to give up.  However, I had printed so many ducks that I thought I should try to collage some of the prints together to make the ducks standout more. After experimenting with a couple different combinations, I decided on these two separate prints as the most successful.  Although this isn’t how I originally saw my prints, I do like the outcome and I think that it was the right decision at the moment.

IP Consultations Ideas

I got some wonderful ideas from my IP consultation and they have really started to push me towards a clearer ending.  Most importantly, I need to go home and play.  Quite literally, I need to take out my old blocks over vacation and try many different combinations and buildings.  After deciding on a couple different layouts, I will light them with extreme lighting and document, by taking pictures, sketching, and just observing the cast of shadows over the block.  My hope is to fill many pages in a sketchbook with these different combinations and experiments with different toys as well.  Luckily, I will have my little cousins to play with and hopefully I will gain some insight into how it was to play as a child. 

There was also a suggestion to look at the artist, Alfred Leslie, who works with different angels and lighting.  I find his nude paintings very inspiring and beautiful.  I hope that I can light my blocks in the same dramatic way that he lights his figures.

The suggestion that I found most interesting was how I could display my prints in my final show.  Jim Cogswell thought that I could display my prints in a grid like format and then to make it more dramatic, make it seem as if all the prints were lighted by the same source.  If the “light source” were coming from the bottom, then each successive print would have shadows as if it were reacting to that same light.  That way they would also look as if they were seated on shelves, which would create an interesting dynamic. I am very excited to started sketching new ideas for toys, and I am happy now with the direction that I have been pushed in. 

Over Winter Break…

I will take photographs and sketch my different combinations of blocks.

I will think about new toys that relate better to one another.

Sketch A LOT

Relax