Post-Pandemic Posts – STDO 1470 Materials: Printmaking
As promised here’s the next instalment of my Post-Pandemic Posts series, STDO 1470 Materials: Printmaking.
This first year studio course was an introductory ‘sampler’ of four mediums offered through the University of Manitoba’s School of Art faculty and each needed to be a medium that could be taught remotely via Zoom. During Covid19 lockdowns all the in-person studio programming was cancelled and remote classes were the only way to keep students on track. This particular course ran January to April, 2021.
To read more about the 'why's' behind this series of Post-Pandemic Posts, as well as see the Sculpture module project click here for Instalment 1 and the introduction. Grab a beverage, it's a bit of a lengthy one!
As a part-time student, I jumped at the window of opportunity the Covid lockdowns provided me, to sign up for a few remote studio courses offered in the evenings during the 2020-2021 sessions. I was so happy that I did. Living out of town and working a day job in the city, far from the university campus, does not allow me time to attend the regular in-person studio classes. The studio courses tend to be spread out an hour or two here and there, over several days of the week. In the past, I’ve managed to book time off work when a course is offered in one 3 hour block once a week, but that seems to rarely happen now. The studio programs are definitely tailored to full-time students attending during regular week days.
OK, enough of me droning on about why it’s difficult finish my degree in art as a rural artist with a day job. Onto why you’re here…..the actual art stuff.
The instructor for the printmaking portion of this course was Suzie Smith and she introduced the class to mediums and methods that could be used to create prints at home without a printing press. Suzie brought the group together in an inspiring studio atmosphere by providing exercises that created discussion and sharing in our Zoom ‘breakout’ rooms.
Her assignments were fun and challenging, but do-able at home and we were provided with video tutorials on the how to’s of carving a lino plate and pulling prints at home without a press. I was so happy with Suzie’s instruction that I was inspired to continue creating more linocut prints at home even after the course had ended and fully intend on carrying on with more into the future. I do enjoy printmaking very much.
[Aside] After doing a few batches of hand-pulled prints now, a press would be nice…..hmmmm…..Kickstarter project perhaps????
For the class, linocut kits were available to purchase from the UM Bookstore that included almost everthing needed—the easy cut lino blocks, rice paper, water-soluble block printing inks and few tools. I already had most of these items from various workshops and printing classes I’ve taken over the years, so only had to buy or scrounge up a few things.
Because each module was very short (three weeks or so), there wasn’t a lot of time to dive too deeply into anything. We did a few texture rubbing assignments and then were asked to come up with concept sketches for a lino carving assignment that explored the pandemic and how we were feeling at that time. Unfortunately, now that time as passed, I believe all the assignment criteria for this module was done though the class portal and I don’t have a pdf or official ‘final assignment’ stored on my laptop.
As for my print project, the original concept for ‘Home Safe Home’ was a quaint little home with a Wifi symbol above acting as a shield of protection. I wanted to portray the signals radiating out like force field protecting the inhabitants. Although, as the I carved and did rubbings to test the progress, the chimney smoke started to take on a slightly sinister effect and began to feel more like a an oppressive creature positioned over the house, trapping, waiting. Protection = Prison?? I loved the duality of meanings that appeared and felt that what the piece lacked from my crude technical carving abilities was made up for in the result of a work that very much conveyed what I was feeling at the time. And perhaps the crude carving even added a layer of meaning to the at home rough way we were all coping with the lockdowns.
Part of the criteria for our final project was to hand in photos of 6 identical prints. The goal being to make them so consistent in quality that you can’t tell them apart. They were also to be numbered, titled and signed correctly. I chose to do my final prints in a red ink to add another layer of meaning, to represent the ‘Code Red’ emergency lockdown orders.
Thank you for taking the time to read this post. Hope you enjoyed some portion of it. Let me know in the comments if you have ever done any printmaking at home, and if so what methods have you used?
There are still two more instalments to come for this course: Caffenol Photography and Acrylic Painting. And then I intend to post some of the drawing assignments. It’s been fun for me looking back on these and I think you might enjoy seeing them as well.
Lori Zébière 