dotgirlj's Full Review: John Ross, Tim Ross, Clare Romano - The Complete P...
Recently, Ishtarskye mentioned that she was taking a printmaking class and her 3-6 hours of lab time that is a mandatory requirement. I immediately said, wow some one who knows what it is like. Printmaking, that is. It all started with the cave people, and yes, it exists today in many sophisticated forms. Anyone that has rubbed out the face of a penny covered by paper has made a print. Most preschoolers print with finger paints and potatoes cuts. But if you are really interested in learning the processes and business of printmaking, I highly recommended The Complete Printmaker. It covers most printmaking methods, has great ideas and recommendations for the use of your prints, plus, it even discusses School Printmaking.
In each method section there is a short history, that is suitable for high school students to understand, followed by an overview of the basic materials and tools needed or that could use for each process. There are also multiple illustrations of each process in the works, and then completed prints. Originally published in 1970, it has been updated to include newer work by artists and materials that are frequently used by printmakers.
The relief print section covers woodcuts, color, engravings, lino, collage relief, and the Japanese wood cut method.
The intaglio section covers line etching, soft ground techniques, aquatint, sugar lift, and also a variety of roller, surface, layered, and cut plate printing.
Collographs, Screen Prints, water-based, oil-based, lithographs, monotypes, photo etching, using the computer, the types of paper suitable, including instructions on how to make your own paper, are covered,too.
A must read section for all printmakers is the chapter about the Health Hazards of printmaking. Back in the day, when William Blake was making prints, people didn’t realize the poisonous nature of working with various materials, and the dangers of some of the chemicals. This chapter outlines the precautions that all printmakers should take into consideration in order to minimize the risks caused by an unhealthy atmosphere. Ventilation, the use of masks, gloves, the handling of materials, and the proper disposal of all hazardous wastes are also discussed. A good list for the First Aid Kit can also be found here.
Another interesting topic contained in this text is the matting of the print. This may seem insignificant but there are many decisions to make if you’ve created a print that you want to display or hang. Framing and matting look much better than push pins, but who says you have to mat, and what if you’ve created a bleed print, what do you do then? These issues are all addressed in the business section.
There are also segments on pricing, storage, and book making.
The section for schoolteachers is fantastic as it has age recommendations for using different techniques. Plus, low cost ideas that students can use to create projects that apply to any subject.
If you are not interested in purchasing the book, you can find it at most libraries that carry books on the creative process in art. If you can’t find it, you should try to convince your librarian that it would be a wonderful additional resource.
One of my fellow artists recently found this book at a Buck A Book for only $5.00. There was only the one, but if you live near one of these stores it might be worth the look. Otherwise, on-line, it runs about $32.00, not too expensive for a book that page after page is full of information any printmaker can rely on.
The most comprehensive up-to-date guide to printmaking on the market today, the revised, expanded, fully illustrated edition of this classic, containi...More at Buy.com
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