I found this assignment both enjoyable and frustrating! Back-drawing and working with stencils were the exercises that I felt produced the most pleasing outcomes. The early collatypes were not particularly successful and drawing on the plate produced very mixed results.
What was satisfying about this assignment, specifically with regard to the less successful samples, was that I was able use resources to identify what went wrong and repeat the exercises with considerably more success. I also learned a great deal about what does and doesn’t work in printing.
In the course of researching printing techniques I identified a number of new techniques I am keen to explore further (traditional Ebru, Suminagashi, marbling with nail polish). I also learned about the work of some very interesting artists. Each artist offered something very different for me – from the extremely detailed and stunning work of Castiglione, the haunting spirituality of Arroyo to the powerful work of the Veterans Project and the highly stylistic, modern work of Major-George. Each artists working with print in their own way and showing the diversity of this medium.