printing

After seeing Martha's post about the Free Ink Days at the Highpoint Center for Printmaking, I knew I had to check it out. Somehow, I had never been there--like so many cool places in my city that I've yet to discover!-- and I'm so glad that I looked it up when I did and was able to attend their last Free Ink Day in their current location. My friend Karen and I headed over there last Saturday and had tons of fun playing around in their studios.

On the day that we went, they were offering monotype as well as the usual printing with pre-made woodcuts. They had some images printed out on cardstock that you could cut out and use for your print, but we opted to make our own designs. The monotype process is really fun and simple, though I think it takes a little bit of thinking to wrap your brain around the layering of the colors. The first one I made is the one on the left (gee, does that bird look familiar?!), and the second one I made is for Jared. I knew he'd get all nitpicky if the bass image was inaccurate, so I was all set to cut out four thin strips for the strings...Of course there was no room for all four strings. So I'm calling it a rare, two string bass. He also mentioned that it's missing the tuning pegs. Oh well.

I've recently been wanting to get back into some kind of printing again--it was a medium that I really enjoyed when I was younger. I think it was mostly the color combinations that I loved (which would probably explain why I enjoy sewing- all that mixing and matching of fabrics). This project was definitely a good inspiration to get moving on my next project that I've got up my sleeve...(I also have a bunch of film shots of the studio that I'll share as soon as I get them back!)

Don't forget to leave a comment on my last post by Thursday at midnight for a chance to win a big pile of fabric!