Mixed Media Printmaking Blog

Feet stamps for block printing

relief prints / Linda Germain / November 16, 2016

Today I made soft carved block inspired by my foot prints. I am in a class called Contemporary Practice at Essex Art Center. We are being challenged to “map” a part of our body.

So I inked up my feet and did some printing on some big papers and started to get inspired. I am not sure where I will go with the idea but I am open to discovering.

I wanted to “map” a body part that was positive or a celebration of health or strength. First, I was thinking about focusing on my knee because it has been in so much pain for the last 6 weeks. Then I decided that I did not want to give that pain any more attention or power.

So since I like printmaking and bookmaking, I think my mapping project will take on that type of form. I hope to learn more about the wonders of feet in the process and celebrate the limited focus on the 2 things that I stand on all day.

I like the idea that I am using my feet to print and to make the art that is about discovering my feet – a full circle. So for day 16 of my #seedrawprint challenge I have made two printing matrices, a block for each foot. To see all 16 prints for the challenge click through the first few pages of my blog or if you are on instagram check out @LindaGermainArt and #SEEdrawprint.

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Drawing transformed in to a screen for printing

monotype print / Linda Germain / November 15, 2016

Line drawings are easily converted to a small screen for printing with a Thermofax Machine.

The machine is about $1200. and a roll of screen is about $200, but there are many folks who will create screens for you and sell screens online and in Etsy shops. I would suggest getting a few screens and trying out the process before you go and buy a machine.

Screen printing is a great process if you want to print many of the same image consistently. I realized that I don’t do that type of printing very often. I am more of a one of a kind, monotype printmaker. But I do love the type of line image that is possible with a thermofax screen print.

As I created this screen I thought about varying the thickness of the line to create a screen that would print some delicate lines and some bolder lines.

Once you get set up it is pretty quick to print up a whole piece of cloth. Use nice fresh ink and a sponge or squeegee to gently “push” the ink through the holes on the screen.

Check out how easy it is to get started with thermofax printing in this blog post.

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Carving Joy and Love – relief printing

relief prints / Linda Germain / November 14, 2016

Today, I carved a couple more eraser blocks with the words JOY and LOVE. I did a pencil drawing and then placed it face down on the eraser and rubbed to transfer the image to the block for carving.

I am getting faster and more confident the more blocks that I carve. I did a test print with a water based marker, and was pleased.

Then I rolled up some blue and red ink and printed a couple of cards and added some words to some gelatin prints to “finish” them off.

Sometimes the word works perfectly and then other times not so much.

I like to have the freedom to experiment and let it be ok to fail sometimes.

This is day 14 of my #SEEdrawPrint challenge, to see draw and print each day in November.

Do you have favorite ways to finish your prints? I introduce a few of mine in the Printed Gifts workshop. It is available now as a self study. Check out the details on the printmaking workshop page and see if it is right for you.

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Screen print from a block printed impression

monotype print / Linda Germain / November 13, 2016

So I took my little block print from yesterday and printed it several times in black ink on paper. I played with the layout and possible designs.

I kept the designs small, because thermofax screens are easier for me to print if the are small. I can hold and move all the tools to make an overall print.

I made about 4 different screens and just had to test them all, the whole orange, 1/2 slice and some tumbling 1/2 slices. Some of the screens burned more successfully than the others. I am never quite sure why.

I warmed up the machine and ran the photocopy through with the emulsion coated mesh screen. Usually is comes out ever so slightly stuck to the screen. This time they were not so stuck. The 1/2 slice looked okay, but when I got to printing it, the impression was somewhat spotty.

I don’t use the machine enough to be able to really read the the screen. It is hard for me to tell if the emulsion has been “burned” enough. Of course there are other factors, ink, paper, fabric and type of squeegee that all affect the quality of the impression.

So I played with printing on several different types of fabric and paper to see if that was affecting my impression. It printed beautifully on this scrap piece of linen. Notice the blue block printed mark. I think this is a great example of the difference between the type of mark that is possible with soft carved block prints and thermofax screen prints.

The more I print, the more I learn. I like it that way. Have you tried screen printing with simple paper stencils? Check out the free tutorial.

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Fruit inspired block print

relief prints / Linda Germain / November 12, 2016

Today I did a drawing of an orange slice and carved a small block for printing.

I really like the simple shapes and the block can be printed in different ways to create several different patterns.

I test printed the block with a purple water based marker and then I could easily remove any of the high spots that were transferring ink in unwanted places.

Then I printed a few small cards with the word “smile” in the middle. The orange slices feel happy and full of sunshine. They make me want to smile.

I decided that I like block printing for working with paper and I like thermofax screen printing when printing on fabric. So far I am keeping up with my 30 day challenge to #SEEdrawPrint each day in November. Click through the blog posts to see the rest.