Another How To...

How to ink an intaglio plate!


1. Squirt some ink onto your plate




2. Using a small squared piece of mat board or illustration board, spread the ink over the entire plate, remembering that there will be some plate tone when printed.


3. Use an ink-soiled tarlitan (cheese cloth) to lightly rub the excess ink off of the plate. I use circular motions. Don't overwipe, but if you do, just go back in with the mat board and add ink.


4. Use a cleaner tarlitan to continue to wipe the excess ink, again being careful not to overwipe.



5. Use a piece of paper from the phone book to finish off your wipe, getting the last of the extra ink and don't forget to get around the edges where ink likes to stick to the plate.

And tada! You are armed with a print-ready plate! All you need is your prepped printing paper and a press. Make sure you follow instructions with your paper so you know how long to soak it before printing. I find it best to soak before inking to give it extra time while still being productive. Happy Printing!

Sculpture Skills

The other day my Intro Sculpture teacher told me I had skills... and I would like to agree. Here is a photo of my sculpture in progress which I actually just finished! I'll have final photos up soon!

From Plate to Print

I took photos of one of my plates, and the resulting print, just to compare the difference.

A How To...

Here is an exercise that my teacher gave me to come up with ideas and think fast on my feet.

Take a word, an idea, something you did, something you've seen, just about anything and start writing on a sheet of paper anything and everything that comes to mind. Don't ever let your pencil stop moving, even if you aren't writing words, write scribbles, do little drawings, anything. After 3 minutes or more depending on how much you want to pick from, put your pencil/pen down.

With this process a small idea can turn into a series of ideas, thoughts, potential information for a project! This process gave me a great idea for a print based on my trip to Israel during winter break of 2008. Hopefully this little trick can give you some potential concepts for the future!

Future Plans

As of a few days ago, I decided to be a 2D and 3D concentration within Fine Art. I will take a foundry class next year, which consists of pouring hot metal. I hope to also take mold making and perhaps another metal working class as well. In terms of my 2D studies, I plan to pursue graphic novel classes, along with an advanced printmaking studio.

Life Drawing Gummy Bear Picnic

One day during life drawing, my classmates noticed that my oil pastels were creating a human gummy bear, so I asked myself, "why aren't there any gummy bears in the mix?" And so I introduced gummy bears, including a fictional blue one!

More Photos

An escalator ride in D.C. during the inauguration.