proof

Proof.

Classes at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln introduced me to Lithography and Intaglio (or Etching). Lithography is drawn on treated Bavarian limestone. Heavy heavy expensive limestone. The kind you work with in school with provided for school equipment. Not the kind of tools I would have in my bachelor apartment after graduation. Ha.

In etching class I learned how to combine vine ash and linseed oil to make a cool black. Bone ash and linseed oil makes a warm black. And you smoosh it together with a metal spatula on a hard smooth surface.

In Intaglio (or Etching) a metal zinc plate is coated with a melted rosin that resists acid and left to cool. Then one draws a design by scratching through the coating. The plate is put into an acid bath tray for a specific amount of time. The acid eats lines into the metal. Light lines if you take the plate out after a short time. Dark lines if you leave the plate in longer. Much trial and error. Learning by doing. And you rinse acid off with water in the sink. So when you click on the above image, you will notice the lines are irregular and bumpy. Some people like their etchings to have a gritty texture. Others are super careful and attentive and can achieve some incredible line work.

For awhile I admired the rich darks that Rembrandt was able to get with his etchings. The etching I did above is called Night Road And Lights.
The impression is 5 by 7 inches on BFK intaglio paper.

When a design has many lines in it you can do what Rembrandt did. With a cardboard scrap you pull a thin coat of ink across the prepared metal plate. Then you scuff the plate with a stiff mesh fabric called a tarlatan. You end up with ink in the etched grooves of the plate. Usually the un-etched smooth portions of the plate are buffed to a shine. But, because many lines will hold much more ink, one can choose where to scuff and where to let heavier amounts of ink remain on the plate. It is that dirtiness of the ink that will create the awesome velvety atmosphere that Rembrandt did. In Night Roads And Lights I wanted the night sky to be a dark as possible. You can only see the road where the headlights illumine and barely see the dim lights ahead. That, my friend, was done on purpose!!

Experimentation. If your ideas aren't working out do something desperate and hope. I did a deep etch and changed the edge of the rectangle. I like abstract and grit and there is room in the world of intaglio for such results.

You will notice that my steps above resemble the style of Arthur Geisert. In the summer of 1977 I moved to Galena, Illinois to work for Geisert. I inked and pulled proofs for him in his hillside studio, that required me to climb up up up his many many wooden steps. 

 

Geisert is an artist who includes lots of detail and humor. The caption reads: "Arthur amuses himself, building steps in the backyard." I pulled eight proofs of "Steps." It measured 5 by 7 inches. Thanks to David Lange for sharing the one he has below, as I have no photos of my early work.

Ga-chun-gah!!

In keeping with whimsy while in Galena I did an etching called "Compress." It measured 6 by 9 inches.

Circa 1977. Arthur Geisert did a four-plate hand-colored etching called "Noah's Ark." His images are full of detail and humor. Three minute video. This work is in the Reinhold Marxhausen collection at Concordia University in Seward, Nebraska. Geisert was an alumni, class of 1963, a friend of my father, and a skilled printmaker.

Summer spilled in to the fall of 1977. See more of that by clicking on
http://karl-marxhausen.blogspot.com/2015/02/chicago-art-institute.html

I chose to stay out of college one semester and worked in Galena until Christmas. I found out I was required to finish my schooling at UNL, as my parents were paying for the education they wanted me to have. I returned to Nebraska and stayed with my parents at the Columbia Avenue house. In the spring of 1978 I took a semester of classes across the street at Concordia Teachers College. And in the fall of 1978 I returned to the UNL to complete my Bachelor in Fine Arts degree.


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Thanks to David Lange (Illinois) for his photos of my etchings in his private print collection. More on Lange http://cee.illinois.edu/faculty/davidlangehttp://cee.illinois.edu/faculty/davidlange

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june thoughts

      in this third week of june the "ease of blogging" has been disrupted. the fred geary presentation, the completion of the six color reductive linocut, photos stuck in a hard drive of a dead computer, all of it disconnected.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX   joys come inspite of this circumstance. ~~~Thank you for protecting me from snakes as I move down the levee into the wild areas. You keep my truck safe. You watch over my tires. You give insight and keep me from getting stuck. You lead me to a pleasant grove with mulberries juicy and ready to pluck and enjoy. This is your abundance, this is your joy over me, a hidden delight  with you, your hands involved--I am not forgotten. Trees tall going up up up, sand, and shade,  just what I was hoping for, you lay it at my feet. You keep me safe, Jesus. Thank you for your constant attention.---
       This day I paint the surface of the river, the wind roars around me like a dragon, do I run now? No harm comes near, I remain and paint with my ears on alert for danger.---
       Before I fall asleep, you hear me. "Wake me up at 6 in the morning. Make me wide awake." Six o'clock comes and my eyes are open, ready to go out to paint. You answer. You enable. You travel.--
      With us, we work, we paint the donut window with dancing donuts, Jan's logo, her blue cup and brown donut and rising sun rays, yes, you make this pair, this team, click and work cooperatively, enjoying her, getting the work done, going forward, we help, we laugh, window colors in enamel, your YES glistens in our eyes---
     Surprised by a friend who remembers me, recalling our early days of service at the local newspaper. Your joy sweeps across my face, laughter, your YES, your happiness, welcome here.--
     Saturday morning I meet the one you picked out, the man from Texas, who will lead us forward into tomorrow's technology. You arranged for the agreement to take place, Jesus. One month later this comes forth, from the unseeable future, HERE HE IS, your gift to the Print Society, wow, look at that, wow.---
     Father, you hear. In the unevenness and uncertainty, among my garbage, inspite of my gripes and whines, you bring your surprises right now. Savior, Near, my Vast Intensity Joy Undivided.

rig made ready

A week after making the masa ready, I gave attention to my paper registration guides (right). Double click on images to make larger.


I planned for both the small and large reduction linocut blocks to have a 3 inch border. Could I fashion wood to make the rig units I needed?

With a yardstick and pencil, I went outside to gather materials from my wood shed, and a handsaw to cut with. My storage shed, once a studio, built by me, housed tools.

A narrow lath board would be glued to a 2 x 1 pine board to make the vertical side of the rig.   A single lath board would make the horizontal side.



 









After sawing, each of the eight inch lengths were made even with sandpaper. 



Before applying glue I scored the side with a piece of steel (left).

The vertical and horizontal units were glued separately.

After the wood glue dried I discovered the rig units were taller than the depth of the lino blocks.

By clenching each rig unit between my shoes I was able to saw units in half length  wise. Left, you can see the rig is lower than the thickness of the block. I scored the wood pieces, glued the two units together, and waited for them to dry. Then I gave the dried rig a coat of Polyacrylic. (So that any ink smudges could be wiped off, during the printing process.)

 Finished rig in my hand.



 I re-measured the vertical registration guides and found two of them to be off by half an inch. So I snapped them off the board, scored the board, and glued them the distance I wanted. Now the guides are even.











 





L-shaped rig set beside the registration guides.




An inked up lino block snug against the new rig.

making masa ready

 

My paper order arrived from New York City. The masa came in standard sheets measuring 21 by 31 inches. (above) For my next project I require sizes 12 by 10 inches and 18 by 15 inches. Steel ruler in hand I measured each sheet, made pencil marks, and tore the sheets to the needed sizes. The uneven torn edge is important to that project. Click on 3 minute video.

Masa is a white paper, made by machine out of 100% sulphite. Sulphite is a chemical wood-pulp obtained by cutting wood into small pieces and cooking it with calcium bisulphate or sodium sulphite to remove natural resins and break down the cellulose fibers. While sulphite does have a short fiber, it increases bulk, softness, and absorbency, which are important qualities for a variety of techniques.  Masa has a neutral pH. It is smooth on one side with a light texture on the other. It weighs 77 gsm. To give you an idea of its weight, tracing paper is 30 gsm, a standard bond eucalyptus paper used for typing is 75 gsm, and a heavy etching paper such as Rives or Arches is typically 250 gsm. When hand printing is used, lighter weight sheets are easier to burnish and transfer more ink from the plate or block. (courtesy of New York Central Fine Art Papers, 62 Third Avenue, New York, New York, www.nycentralartsupply.com, accessed January 19, 2012)

Next, comes adjustments to my registration guides.

try to do the kitchen litho

The last few days I had been gearing up to this. It was my turn to try "Kitchen Lithography." The video looked pretty straight forward. You simply gathered your materials, followed the steps, and you would have an inexpensive way to make repeatable hand-burnished prints. These would be items you could find in your kitchen, such as aluminum foil, oil, and water. (Double click on images to see larger)

     Well, there was more to the process than the video shows. See the results of my first try, above. That was Friday evening after work.

     The next morning, Saturday, I went online to learn more. There were several folks trying to unlock the steps to the same video. I picked up some tips from the kitchen litho thread posted at Inkteraction (http://www.inkteraction.ning.com). As a result I went out to buy an 8 inch aluminum flashing at Warren Lumber in our town. It was 85 cents per foot. I also bought 220 grit wet sandpaper and some heavy duty aluminum foil. That afternoon, after three hours of labor, here are the images I produced.

I was unhappy with these images. 
Let me show you some of the process.

(Above) Heavy duty foil, taped to backside of a pan, wet sanded with 220 grit sandpaper, flushed with water, blown dry with hair dyer, vinegar sensitized, dried, litho crayon drawn image, spritzed with water sprayer, skimmed very lightly with sponge, slowly inked with brayer (thin layer of oil paint), spritzed with water, skimmed lightly with sponge, inked again.

One secret is the 5 to 7 second coke etch, which is quickly rinsed with water. Click on short video.

I was used to working with water soluble products. Working with oil paint got my hands all messy. One useful tip was to wash my hands with toothpaste and that did the trick. I discovered that canola oil and a paper towel easily removed the oil paint on foil and the plexiglass plate I had underneath the flashing. A pair of disposable rubber gloves kept my hands clean. Click on video.

One Iowa participant, Aaron Scott, said that areas can be reworked, re-etched, and cleaned up. When my energy ran out Saturday afternoon, I gave it up. I would like to learn more. In the future I want to read more about the successes and get more tips from the online KLF club (Kitchen Litho Frustration club). 

Best efforts yet. Used petroleum jelly on prepared aluminum flashing.
Double click on images.

See what others are saying about Kitchen Litho below.
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http://poppenga.blogspot.com/2011/11/aluminum-foil-etching.html

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http://www.printeresting.org/2011/09/17/viva-los-videos-kitchen-lithography/

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http://ldeandyment-soiwasthinking.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-attempt-at-kitchen-lithography.html

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http://smidgeonpress.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/kitchen-litho-a-non-toxic-print-process-for-your-home<
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http://poppenga.blogspot.com/2011/12/kitchen-lithography-once-again.html?showComment=1324855644363#c2323348013237230082