New Favorite scuptures, Joan Giordano

Joan Giordano does these richly colored and textured sculptures that are visually exquisite. Personally I don't relate to sculpture as much as I do prints or paintings, but I connected with them instantly and would love to own one. She also does monoprints which aren’t as rich and powerful but still visually appealing.

Contemporary Lithographer, Robert Kelly

I came across this artist while looking in a Art In America magazine. I love to find professional lithographer's because the medium is extremely difficult, but at the same time there are so many possibilities. I enjoy her colors, textures and the interaction between shapes. I aspire to try doing work similar to this. My work tends to be more representational because it is more difficult for me to simplify my ideas and it this case it would be a great challenge.

Art Ambitions

Recently I have focused on printmaking as my medium for producing art. Printmaking is the transferring of an inked image from one surface (from the plate or block) to another (usually paper), very simply stated. I finished my Lithography class where I really struggled with the process and now desire to move away from printmaking and refine my drawing and printing skills. I was commissioned to paint a mural where I found my love for painting again. A few things that I aspire to do as personal projects included, abstract large scale work, more murals, portrait drawings and mixed media. I want to do work different than I have ever done before, new concept new look!

Litho...What?

Lithography is a method for printing using a plate or stone with a completely smooth surface. By contrast, in intaglio printing plate is engraved, etched or strippled to make cavities to contain the printing ink. Lithography uses oil or fat and gum arabic to divide the smooth surface into hydrophobic regions which accept the ink, and hydrophilic regions which reject it and thus become the background. Invented by Bavarian author Alois Senefelder in 1796, it can be used to print text or artwork onto paper or another suitable material. Today most high volume texts are produced using offset printing with machine rollers and fast drying ink. The handmade older technique which I use is all hand done the pressing being the only machine used. This technique is slowly losing its popularity as technology advances.

Lithography

Lithography is a type of printmaking that is foreign to most people. Even if this process brings me to tears and is incredibly difficult at times the final prints are wonderful and unique. This piece was finishing up a body of work with the concept of preservation. This print titled “Unpreserved” focuses on a new phase of life and freedom.

Michelle

This is a portrait of my grandmother which I have never met, but someday know I will. I did this lithograph to get to know her the only way I knew how. As I was working I did feel closer to her.

Identity of a Rock

In a lot of my work I convey personal feelings and situations happening in my life at that point. In my lithography class we had to create a print with the theme "maid on a rock." Instantly when I heard "maid" I referenced that to my job as a server. I created this print called "The Identity of a Rock" to convey my feelings at work. Being a server sometime people treat you as if you have no identity even if you are working really hard, carrying a tray of rocks, you are only a means to feed them.

Intaglio Printing

Printmaking consists of many types of techniques and methods, lithography being one and Intaglio being another. Intaglio is when an image is incised into a surface, known as the matrix or plate. Normally, copper or zinc plates are used as a surface, and the incisions are created by etching, engraving, dry point or mezzotint. To print an intaglio plate, ink is applied to the surface and then rubbed with cloth to remove most of the excess. The final smooth wipe is often done with newspaper or old public phone book pages, leaving ink only in the incisions. A damp piece of paper is placed on top and the plate and paper are run through a printing press that, through pressure, transfers the ink from the recesses of the plate to the paper.

Some of my Intaglio work:

Monoprints

Monotype prints are one run prints, meaning that the artist can't produce more than one. This is why it is also known as the most painterly of the printmaking techniques. The process involves inking an entire plate and then subtracting the image or adding ink creating the image. Then paper is added to the inked plate and ran through a press transferring the image with pressure. As the ink transfers the image is also making it unable to print again exactly as before. The artist can do many runs through the press and even add other media like collage and drawing.

Other Work:

Top left is a sculptural piece and a response to Jasper Johns' "Flags." I put an Iraq flag in the middle where he had another U.S. flag. This represents my views on the war.

Top right is a large painting that represents preservation and confinement. This work is still in progress but deals with my feelings while my husband was on his mission and I was waiting for him to return.