DEVELOPMENT OF A CURRICULUM MODEL IN PRINTMAKING FOR A HIGH SCHOOL ART EDUCATION PROGRAM

A THESIS

SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR

THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN ART

IN THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE

TEXAS WOMAN ' S UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF HUMANITieS AND

FINE ARTS

DEPARTMENT OF ART

BY

DONNA FLANAGAN BARNARD , B.F . A.

DENTON , TEXAS

AUGUST , 1980

The Graduate School

Texas Woman's University

Denton, Texas

August 19 80

We hereby recommend that the thesis prepared under

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Dissertation/Theses signature page is here. To protect individuals we have

covered their signatures.

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IEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY UBRAR'f

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER I

Introduction . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER II

Reli ef Printmaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER J II

Intaglio Printmaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . CHAPTER I V

Planogr aphic Printmaking . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER V Stencil Printmaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER VI Collagr aph Printmaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CHAPTER VII Summary and Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

APPENDIX ES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page

iv

1

7

19

27

)8

50

55

57

BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

ii i

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Ill ustration Page

2 .

J .

4.

Suggested Registration Methods for Relief Color Printing . • . . . . . . . Color Sequence for Linoleum Print . . . . . . . A Linoleum Reduction Print . . . . An Embossing from a Linoleum Plate . . . . .

5. A Pl astic Plate Drypoint Print •••.

6 .

? .

8 .

9 ·

Prints from Paper Lithographic Plates . . . . . A Common Screen Printing Set- up . . . . . . . . Serigraph from Lacquer Film and Photographic Stencil . • . . . •

Serigraph from Liquid Block-out Stencil .

iv

. .

14

17

17

18

26

37

4J

49

49

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The proposed problem for study was the development of

a curriculum model in the area of printma king for a high

school l e ve l art education program .

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study was to develop a functional

art ed ucation r esource model in printmaking for the high

school l evel in compliance with guidelines stated by nat i on­

al and regional accreditation agencies .

JUSTI FICATION FOR THE STUDY

A documented resource model in the area of printmaking

would a i d in the transition from t he traditional art curri c ­

ulum (Art I , II , III , and IV ) in the writer ' s school t o a

dept h program in major art areas . In the r esearcher ' s schocu

thi s need has been fel t for several years , and the mechanics

of cPanging to such a depth program would be implement ed

sooner given appropriate curriculum models .

BACKGROUND INFOR~~TION

The writer teaches in a hi gh school in which the

1

2

three art instructors desire to integrate a depth program

into the art curriculum. Currently Art I and II are rather

broad in spectrum, with further depth del ayed until the

third and fourth year courses (Art III and IV) . Many stu­

dents are unable to enroll in more than two years of art

courses due to schedule conflicts and increased graduation

requirements which greatly limit enrollment in elective

courses .

In this writer's opinior. , a depth program should be

established , which would be offered following completion of

one basic design course . The researcher feels that the de -

velopment of suitable curriculum models in major art areas

would expedite such a change in her own school ' s curriculum ,

and eventuall y aid in district- wide changes . This art edu­

cation approach is described as a depth program by the

National Art Educatior. Association :

DEPTH PROGRAMS . Courses in which one area of instruction is carried on at a time in a space appro­priately equipped , and in which the instructor teaches his/her area of specialization , supports current devel­opments and motivational schemes . Rather than dealing with the broad spectrum , the teacher and the students concentrate on developing behavioral goal s , skill s , and sophistication of concept in one area that i s applicable to non-verbal understanding of the abstract quali ties we are often r e luctant or unable to identify as t he con­t ent of art. Rather than merely being conversant with the obvious and measurably achievable concepts which are largely descriptive in nature , e . g . , the el ements of art , the student works in one area , gaining exper­ience necessary for him/her to relate to his/her area and to become aware . Through this approach hPishe

3

l earns to appreciate process as an aspect of art .l

The writer feels that such a change in curriculum

structure would provide students with an opportunity to

gain greater competence and awareness of process . As stated

by Leon Frankston s

Through an increasing dept h approach to the subject matter , each student will come into more direc t contact with sequ ential activites in the pursuit of a personal metaphor or style of working . His struggl e for self­expression is therefore given a dimension of time . And whether the adoles cent plans to beco~e an arti st or not , he will have a better understanding and appreciation of the meaning of art and the a esthetic experience . I f eel that through depth e xp eriences in art we may l ook forward to a society in which adoleschents as they become adul ts will be able to r elate their spec i a lized experiences t~ new and imaginative elements of the world around them .

A number of succ essful depth programs have been

observed by the researcher at the hi gh school l evel during

her teachi ng years . This has strengthened her belief that

a depth approach in her own high school and district would

make the art program more relevant and valuable to the

student , and present a greater challenge at every abili ty

l evel .

! National Art Education Association , Art Education : Senior High School , (Washington , D. C. : N. A. E. A., 1972) p . 64.

2Leon Frankston , "The Case for Depth in Art : A Re­action Against the Kal e idoscopic Effects of the Breadth Approach to Teaching Art at the Secondary School Level , " Art Education , Oct . 1967 , P · 9 .

4

DELIMITATIONS

The following delimitations were proposed for the

study :

1 . The researcher limited the curriculum to the area of

printmaking at the high school l evel .

2 . The curriculum model was designed for the high school

student who had completed a one-year basic design course or

its equivalent .

J . The art resourc e model followed guidelines stated by

national and regional accreditatior. and professional

agencies .

4 . The study did not attempt to suggest all possible con­

tent for such a curriculum, but provides suggested art

activities in major printmaking areas . A comparison of

major graphic art processes is provided in Appendix A.

5. The curriculum was designed for use in the eighteen week

semester system, allowing adequate time for the activities

listed . Further individual exploration would be r ecom­

mended after the initial one semester beginning course .

Educational objectives for the course are incl uded in

Appendix B.

6 . The art education model provides :

A. A table of contents dividing the activity units

according to major printmaking processes .

B. A brief historical overview in each printmaking area

5

C. Suggested activities in each process appropriate for

high school level .

D. A glossary of printmaking terms .

E. A reference source of suggested visual aids , supply

sources for materials , and a bibliography .

DEFINITION OF TERMS

The following terms are used in the introductory

chapter . Terms specific to printmaking proc esses are de­

fined in the glossary of printmaking t erminology .

1. Content : Subj ect matter , as of a book . (American Her­

itage Dic tionary , p . 156 . )

2 . Curriculum: The course or subject matter offered by an

educational institution . (Webster ' s Seventh New Colleg­

iate Dictionary , p . 204 . )

3. Develop : To expand or bring out the potentialities ,

capabilities . . . (Standard Encyclopedic Dictionary ,

p . 174 . )

4 . Guideline: A statement of general policy . (American

Heritage Dictionary , P • 317 . )

5. High School : A school that usually includes grades

nine through twelve . (American Heritage Dictionary ,

P• 335 · )

6 . Level: Relative place , degree , or stage . (Standard

Encyclopedic Dictionary , p . 372 . )

6

7. Model: A type or design ; an example to be emulated .

(American Heritage Dictionary , p . 454.)

8 . Objectiv e : Serving as a goal for a course of action .

(American Heritage Dictionary , p . 491 . )

9 . Processes : A series of continuous actions that bring

about a particular result . (Standard Encyclopedic

Dictionary , p . 527 . )

CHAPTER II

RELIEF PRINTMAKING

The t echnique of dupli cating images goes back several

thousand years to the Sumerians (ca . 3000 B. C. ) who engraved

desi gns and cuneiform inscriptions on cylinder seals which ,

when rolled over soft c l ay tablets , l eft r elief i mpressi ons .

On the basis of stone designs and seals found in China,

there is s peculation t hat the Chinese may have produced a

primitive form of print - the rubbing - about the second

century A.D. J

With the development of paper on the Chinese mainland

in the second century A. D. , the stamping devices gradually

evol ved into woodblocks . The prac tice spread to Japan in

the sixth c entury A.D., where the early woodcuts were re-

l i gious in subject matter , a s in China . It was not until

the seventeenth century that a more highly developed a r t

came forth . The Japanese printmaker ' s concept of symbol-

ism in subject matter , asymmetrical composition , and the

use of flat color , pattern , and line were a great influence

on the work of Gauguin , Van Gogh , Lautrec , Whistl er , and

3Encycl opedia Brittanica Macropedia , 1975 ed . , s . v . "Pr i ntmaki ng . "

7

8

other European artists . 4

It is believed that the first woodblock prints on

textiles were made by the Egyptians in the sixth or sevent h

century , but the earliest printed image with a n authenticat ed

date is a scroll of the Diamond Sutra (one of the di scourses

of the Buddha) printed by Wang Chieh in A.D. 868 , which was

found in a cave in Ea s t ern Turkistan .

In Europe , stamping (to imprint royal seans and sig­

natures) preceded printing by rubbing or wi t h a press . The

earliest documented impressed roya l s i gnature i s that of

Henry VI of England , da t ed 14) 6 .

Textile print ing wa s known in Europe fr om t he s ixt h

century , with designs cons i sting largely of r epeated dec ­

orati ve patterns . Printing on paper developed f r om text ile

printing following the introduction of paper from the Orient .

The first European paper was made in 1151 , a t Xativa (modern

Jativa) , Spain . Soon paper manufacturing began in France

and then in Germany and Italy , notably by Fabriano , whose

enterprise was established in 1276 and still exi s ts t oday . 5

The first woodcuts on paper , printed in quant i ty , wer e

playing cards and primitive r eligi ous fi gur es . As t he in­

vention of printing from movable type became a r eali t y in

4John Ross a nd Cla re Romano , The Comple t e Printmaker , (New York : The Free Press , 1972) , p . 1 .

5Encyclopedia Brittanica Macropedia .

9

the mid- fifteenth century , the woodcut began to appear in

more highl y developed forms as illustrations for religious

books . By the late fifteenth century the gr eat artists of

the time , Albrecht Durer and Hans Holbein in Germany , Lucas

von Leyden in the Netherlands , and Titi an in Ital y were

using the new medium with great eloquence .

The flexibility and richness of l ine engraving and

etching attracted moEt of t he major artists after the mid­

sixteenth century , causing a declin e in the us e of the wood­

cut as a vehicle for es t hetic express ion . The woodcut , and

later t he wood engraving became a means for reproducing pop­

ular painters ' work and was used to illustrate books , mag­

azines , and n ewspapers . I t was not until the revival of the

woodcut a s a sensitive , personal art form in the late nine­

teenth century that it r egained it s place as a major expres ­

sive fo r m.

Col or in t he woodcut was first used in the West to

hand tint t he early black and whi te woodcuts of saints and

playing cards , a cheap means of supplying colored pictures

to the widely illiterate public of the late Middle Ages .

The method of printing pictorial woodcuts from separat e

blocks , known as "Chiaroscuro , " appeared in Germany in 1508

in the earliest dated print . These prints , though they were

printed from separate blocks , were tonal and interpr eted

the line and wash drawings of the period .

10

It is the multicolor prints of the eighteenth and

nineteenth century Japan that have given us such and elo­

quent concept of color in the woodcut . The Ukiyo-e prints

(the pictures of the floating world , the World of Everyday

Life) were made by major artists with great refinement and

taste for the generally poorer classes and the uneducated .

The subject matter covered a wide range t girls , actors ,

genre scenes , popular landscapes . Utamaro , Sharaku , Haru­

nobu , and Hiroshige were among the great names .

In the early 1800 ' s the Ukiyo-e prints became a col­

lector ' s item in Paris . By 1862 a Japanese curio shop

opened in Paris and sold many Ukiyo-e prints . In 1867 the

Paris Exposition Universelle exhibited a large quantity of

these prints , and the Paris art world became profoundly

aware of the new art forms . Gauguin , Van Gogh , Mary Cassatt ,

Toulouse-Lautrec , Whist l er , Degas , Manet and Pissarro came

under the influence of the asymmetrical composition , strong

design , and stylized form . The flat color , pa ttern , and

line as intrinsic compositional elements were deeply inspir­

ing to these artists .

Gauguin ' s use of the woodcut had a strong Japanese

influence . His work influenced Munch , who further exper­

imented . In some instances Munch used separate blocks for

each color, in others he used one block cut into separate

color areas , inked separ atel y , and reassembled for printing

11

in one step . 6

I n Ameri ca , wood engraving was wi del y used by 1850 .

Thomas Nast created powerful cartoons by the woodcut method ,

i nf luencing t he whol e development of the pol itical and

s oci a l car toon . Timothy Cole , one of the period ' s most

skillfu l i llustrators , made independent wood engravings for

pur el y artistic purposes .

In Mexico , the corrido developed at the turn of the

c entury . The corrido i s a brilliantly colored tissuelike

piece of paper on which may be printed a topical political ,

soci a l , or economic satire , a pungent piece of poetry , or

a ballad , ill ustrated with forceful woodcuts . The corrido

i s sol d in the marketplace and at fairs , where the words may

be sung by a man with a gui tar . 7

A major innovation occurred with Picasso ' s linocuts of

t he 1950 ' s . Hi s use of one bl ock for a multicolor print was

probabl y the first time anyone had devised a reduction

method for cutti ng and printing each color out of one block~ The printmakers of today continue to experiment and

use many i nnovative relief techniques , employing a variety

of sur faces besi des wood and linoleum . Masonite , cardboard ,

6Ross and Romano , The Compl ete Printmaker , pp . 28- 29 .

7Jul es Heller , Printmaking Today , (New York : Ho l t , Ri nehart and Wi nston , Inc ., 1972) pp . 138-140 .

8Ross and Romano , The Complete Printmaker , p. 29 .

12

plastics , and various other materials are used .

THE LINOLEUM REDUCTION PRINT

The following description of a linoleum reduction

print , the me thod which Picasso pioneered in the 1950 ' s , is

suitable for a school situation of limited supplies and

equipment . High qua li ty multi-color prints can be achieved

from one linoleum plate and hand printing tools , or with a

press if available . The same basic procedure could also be

used for a r eduction woodblock print .

Tools and Material s

To prepare the plate : mounted or unmounted linoleum, perm­

anent felt-tip markers , bench hooks , carving tools .

To print : brayers , water solubl e or oil based inks , appro­

priate solvents , glass or plexi gl as for ink , burnishing

equipment (wooden or metal spoons , barens , c l ean brayer s ,

wringer or other printing press if avail able)

Proc edure

1 . In devel oping designs , students can work directly from

nature , the imagination , or s lides and photographs . It may

be necessary to abstract and simplify in order to adapt sub­

ject matter to designs suitable for a linol eum bl ock .

Chosen from three preliminary desi gns , the sel ected design

should have the best us e of positive and negative spac e and

a strong linear quality . The color planning should be done

13

on white paper , using three or more values (including white . )

The l ightest val ue indicates the area to be carved first .

The medium value wil l remain and will be printed first . The

darkest value represents the areas that will be printed

after further cutting . The design is then transferred to

the linoleum with permanent felt-tip markers which won ' t

wash off between printings . More colors may be planned as

desired .

2 . The linoleum should then be placed in a bench hook , a

safety device which hooks on the edge of a table to prevent

s l ipping. A demonstration shows students how to carve away

fro m the body and hands and how to keep turning the block

to get the easiest angle for cuts . An el ectric hot plate

can be used , if available , to soften the linol eum for eas i er

cutting by heating it for a few seconds above the burner .

J . After the initial cutting is complete , a trial proof is

pulled and inspected for corrections and any changes if

needed . Then the first color can be printed . Since ac­

curate registration is of utmost importance in printing the

next colors , the best r egistration method for the type of

plate used should be determined . See illustation on page 14

for several suggested col or registration methods .

An edition of five or more prints should be adequate .

A variety of experimental printing surface will yiel d in­

teresting results . A few possibilities are colored papers ,

METHOD ONE

linoleum holder -.......,

14

SUGGESTED REGISTRATION METHODS FOR RELIEF COLOR PRINTING

cardboard or masonite base

~-... paper over linoleum

1 . 2 ~--------------~ 1 . Attach an L-shaped holder for linoleum to base ~oard with glue or tape . Add L-shaped holders for paper .

METHOD TWO

1. ~~==~-=====~==~

1 . For mounted linoleum or wood blocks , glue or tape small stops made of wood or heavy cardboard to base next to bloc~ 2 . Add stops for paper . Attach all stops before printing . 1°

METHOD THREE

2 .

wood guide for mounted

blocks

In thi s method , an L- shaped guide and plastic or thin car­board tabs are used . The L- shaped guide should be the same depth as the desired margin for paper .

9Thomas Browne , ed ., Dyeing and Printing, (N .Y.: Excal ­ibur Books , 1977) , P • 98 .

1°william Reid , jr ., The Art of Printmaking , (~aine : J , Weston Wal ch , Publisher , 1974 ) , P• 28 .

15

tissue papers , newspaper , phone book pages , and fabrics

such as burlap or canvas . Unusual textural effects can be

achieved by layers of colored inks .

4 . When the first run is completed , the ink i s removed from

the plate and the permanent marker lines r emain . The medi um

value areas are then carved out to prepare for the second

printing . Being careful to register accurately , the second

run is printed on top of the first prints . Different color

combinations can be tri ed for changes in t h e mood of the

subject . The printing procedure i s repeated as necessary

for the number of colors to be printed .

5. The final step i s the signing and matting of each print .

A pencil is used to sign the edition of prints , indicating

the number of the individual print and the total number of

prints under the image on the l eft side . This appears as a

fractional number . - 1/ 10 , 2/10 , etc . Th title is pl aced i n

the center and the artist ' s name a nd date on the right side

d . 11 un er the J.mage .

EMBOSSING

Uninked linoleum plates can be used to produce fine

embossings , with best resul ts obtained with an etching press

equipped with at l east one f elt blanket . The paper should be

dampened and blotted in newsprint or blotting paper . Paper

11Beth Dunn , "Linoleum Block - Reduction Cut ," Arts and Activities , Nov . 1979 , pp . 46-48 .

16

with some rag content is more durable , but fairly good re­

sults can b e achieved with inexpensive construction paper .

Pressure should be adjusted gradually to allow for best def­

inition of lines and shapes .

Figure 2 On page 17 shows the successive colors

used on the r eduction l inoleum print , Figure J . An emboss ­

ing from a linoleum plate is shown in Figure 4 , page 18 .

18

Fig . 4 . An embossing made from a linoleum plate , using an etchinp press . The construction ~aper was dam­pened and blotted before it was placed over tha unmounted linoleum plate .

CHAPTER III

INTAGLIO PRINTMAKING

The general term intaglio (from the Italian i tagliare ,

which means to engrave , carve , or cut) covers a multitude of

processes , including engraving , etching , drypoint , aquatint ,

soft ground , lift ground , and mezzotint , as well as a variety

of associated techniques . The incised line in the plate

holds the ink whil e the surface is wiped clean .

The beginning of the intaglio process can be traced to

the work of fift eenth century European craftsmen in metal.

Most of the early engravers who began to experiment with

printing on paper had been apprenticed in gol dsmiths ' shops .

Engraving on paper may have evolved out of a need to r ecord

designs engraved on armor and decorative gold r eceptacl es .

The earliest dated intaglio print on paper is one from

an anonymous German engraver who did a series of The Passion

of Chri st in 1446 . The first engraver on metal known by

name was the gifted German artist Martin Schongauer .

In Italy the art of engraving developed more directly

out of the classical ideals of the Renaissance . In Florence ,

two methods of working evolved , the Fine Manner and the Broad

Manner . The Fine Manner used much fine gradation and cross­

hatching , and the Broad Manner used a fre er kind of pen draw-

19

20

ing with wide shading . Andrea Mantegna, who produced a great

number of engravings , s eems to have been an early developer

of the atelier system of producing work , with craftsmen doing

most of the engraving . This system was highly devel oped by

Rubens of Antwerp i n the seventeenth century ; he had a l arge

studio of engraver s busy producing hi s pa intings on plates

to satisfy t h e wide popular demand for his engravings . 12

Though known early in t h e sixteenth century , the tech­

nique of etching did not fully mature until the seventeenth .

Chemistry entered into the print process in a new way . In­

stead of the s kill and t he physical forc e needed for engrav­

ing , the artist could now use the action of acids on metal

to bite lines into the plate . Etching was therefore a tech­

nical breakthrough , comparable to t he invention of li tho­

gr a phy at the end of the eighteenth century . 1J

In Germany Albrecht Durer used engravings and etchings

with great inventiveness and richness . His search for

classical beauty served as a bridge between the Gothic and

the Renaissance . Hi s travel s i n Italy and his exposure to

s ome of the great Renai ssance masters such as Mantegna and

Bellini made a l asting impact on him .

A more expressive use of etching began to be seen in

12Ross and Romano , The Complete Printmaker , pp . 7- 8 .

l )Jules Heller , Printmaking Today , p . 191.

21

the sixteeenth century . In the landscape etchings of Al­

brecht Altdorfer , a freer line of varied thickness began to

explore the possibilities of space . The use of successive

bitings to achieve lines of varying depth soon began to

appear in numerous etchings.

However it was not until the seventeenth century under

the genius of Rembrandt that etchings with flexibility and

creative freeedom evolved . His extraordinary etchings in­

cluded more than three hundred plates with a rich vari ety of

subject matter , from landscapes to portraits , to biblical

compositions . His innovative plates explored technical and

esthet ic possibilites unheard of in etching . His use of dry­

point in combination with etching produced rich blacks and

enhanced his dramatic use of chiaroscuro .

Hercules Seghers , a contemporary of Rembrandt and much

admired by him , was apparently the first to use color in

etching . He seems to have used one color at a time and a­

chieved tints by hand coloring in addition .

After Rembrandt and Seghers , an entire school of por­

traiture developed in the Netherlands , the etchings of Van

Dyck being most noteworthy .

In France , Jacques Callot did a seri es of etchings

showing peaceful villages occupied with tiny figures involved

in the horrors of war . This was probably one of the first

22

statements of protest in the print .

In the eighteenth century there were fewer noteworthy

arti sts working with etching , except Francisco Goya in Spain,

Hogarth in Engl and with engraving and etching , and Tiepolo ,

Canaletto , and Piranesi in Italy . The visionary work of

Goya and his incredible skill with the newly developed aqua­

tint me thod to enhance his powerful satirical fantasies is

carefully studied by students of etching and sought by

collectors . The Desastres de la Guerra , Goya ' s biting re­

flection on the French occupation of Spain , is one of the

great commentaries of all time on the horrors of war and

man ' s inhumanity to man .

The nineteenth century , with its obsession with per­

fection , brought only a decline in etching as a creative

medium . Great technica l proficiency became more and more

an end rather than a means .

Later , the arti sts who developed a new awareness of

the beauty of the medium through the artist ' s own creative

exploration of the pl ate and the printing hel ped to i mplE­

ment an etching renai ssance . One such artist was Meryon in

Franc e . Towards the end of the century , Whistler , Ensor ,

and Munch began to use etching with bold imagination .

The development of the intaglio process i n the years

since the end of Worl d War II has been almost limitless in

inventiveness of image and exploration of technique .

23

The earl y impetus of Stanley William Hayter ' s Atelier

17 in Paris and New York City played a l eading rol e in tech­

nical experimentation and development of unique methods for

the us e of col or . The creative us e of the intaglio process

in France , England , Germany , Yugoslavia , Poland , and the

United States owes much to the heritage of Atelier 17 . 14

THE PLASTIC PLATE DRYPOINT PRINT

A suitable activity in the intaglio process for school

use is the making of drypoint prints from an acrylic plastic

plate , as described below . Sheet plastic may be obtained

from art supply houses , glass shops , and plasti cs suppliers .

It can be bought sized or can be cut to desired size wi th a

saw or a lastic-cutting tool .

Tools and Mat erials

To prepare the plate : plastic plates , s harp tools such as

scribers or etching needl es , file , masking tape .

To print : etching inks , appropriat e s olvent such as mineral

spirits , old phone book , Tarlatan or cheesecloth , papers ,

photographic tray or dishpan for soaking pa per , newsprint or

blotting paper , wringer type press or etching press with

felt blanket .

To dry prints : wooden or plastic clothespins can be used to

hang prints for drying from a clothes line of cord or rope .

14Ross and Romano , The Complete Printmaker , pp . 8- 9 .

24

Procedure

1 . The selected drawing shoul d emphasize line , and it

shoul d be remembered that the image will reverse . Cross­

hatching and other line techniques can be used for value

areas . The drawing can be taped under the plastic plate to

keep it immobile during the cutting process . The sharp tool

is then used t o scratch the image into the surface of the

plastic . A change in line thickness can be achieved by

consciously varying the amount of pressure exerted when

carving . The edges of the plate may need to be filed to

prevent cutting the paper during printing , depending on the

thickness of the plastic plate . A plate 1/ 16 inch thick

or l ess probably will not need filing .

2 . Prepare printing area , soak paper very briefly and blot .

Leave in blotters until needed . Mat board scraps can be

used to spread etching ink over the plate . Take care to see

that ink i s forced into the channels of the design . Phone

book pages can be used for prel iminary wiping of the surface,

followed by careful cleaning with a Tarlatan or cheesecloth

pad . Care is taken not to remove ink from furrows in plate .

J . After placing the pl ate face up on the press bed , the

dampened and blotted paper is carefully lowered over it .

The felt bl ankets are pulled dovm over the paper , and the

bed is rolled through the press with an even movement , with­

out stopping . The print is then removed for drying on a

25

clothesline or drying rack. The first print can be exam­

ined for any needed reworking of the plate . If all i s sat­

isfactory , the printing can continue until the edition is

completed . If there is a delay in printing , the plate

shoul d be thoroughly cleaned to prevent ink drying on the

plate . (An old toothbrush is helpful in cleaning ink from

the incised lines . ) After pulling the last print, the ink

can then be left on the plate if desired .

Experiments can be done on different types of paper .

Very good results are obtained with an etching paper such

as Arches , but experimentation is encouraged and can l ead to

a vari ety of effects . 15

It is quite acceptable to hand- color intaglio prints ,

and watercolors or colored pencils can be used to enhance

the prints , if desired .

After drying , the prints should be properly signed by

the artist and matted .

A sample print is shown on page 26 .

15Nicholas Roukes , Crafts iD_J?l astics , ( New York: Watson Gupti ll Publications , 1972) PP• 28 - ) 1.

26

Fig . 5. Shown is a plastic drypoint plate on the l eft , a handcolored drypoint print in the center , and a one color print on the right . Pencils were used on the print in the center to add color .

CHAPTER IV

PLANOGRAPHIC PRINTMAKING

Planographic printmaking, lithography , is based upon

the antipathy between grease and water ; it is essentially

chemical in nature . A lithographic drawing is made with a

greasy material on the surface of a block of limestone , or

a zinc , aluminum , or paper plate . After chemical treatment

with gum arabic and nitric acid , an ink-charged roller is

passed over the surface . Ink is accepted by the grease

image and simulataneously repelled by the undrawn areas of

the stone , which retain water . A print is obtained by

placing a sheet of paper upon the inked stone , which sits on

the bed of a lithographic press , and then running the stone

and the paper , with the necessary backing , under the scrap­

ing pressure of the press. Lithography may be considered

a surface phenomenon in that the image on the stone is

neither above nor below but on the surface being printed .

It is generally agreed that Alois Senefelder of Bava­

ria invented lithography in 1798 . He was one of several

men who were trying to perfect and control a process for

chemical printing from stone . The invention was a major

one , not only as a new medium in the fine arts , but also as

a step in the evolution of commercial printing . Senefelder

27

28

call ed the process polyautography , which means making of

mul tiple copies from a handwritten or drawn original .

At first the most immediate and practical use for lith­

ography was thought to be the reproduction of musical scores

and dramas at prices that undercut the older printing system.

Senefelder himself , as an author and an actor , was motivated

toward this commercial advantage and quickly made connections

with music publishers and printers in Germany and England .

During 1800-1801 he visited England where he assisted Phil­

ipp Andre in setting up a lithographic press and advised

artists of the process . Among others , American-born artist

Benjamin West , a portraitist and painter of historical and

mythological subjects , was one of the first to use the

process .

By chance , the li thographic process came into being

almost simultaneously with the rise of Romanticism , and it

offer ed artists of the movement an expressive means freer

than woodcut or engraving and presenting far l ess resistance

to the spontaneous action of the draftsman ' s hand . Exper­

imentation with the medium revealed endl ess possibilities foc

dramatic tonal contrasts , fine- grained shading , and luscious

blacks cut by fine white lines into the stone . For emotion­

al drive , the human sensibiliti es , the worship of nature ,

and the awakening social conscience of the times , litho-

29

graphy was well - suited . 16

The l ater development of lithography in Paris by major

artists was noteworthy for the use of the media for its own

intrinsic qualities . Gericault , Delacroix , Daumier , and

later Rudolph Bresdin worked expressively in the medium ,

and even Goya in Bordeaux did some remarkable lithographs

of bullfights in his later years .

It was Daumier , through his creative use of the lith-

ographic crayon and his wit , satire , and excellence at car-

icature , who reached wide masses of people through his li th­

ographs in the daily and weekly newspapers . His total out­

put was close to four thousand lithographs .

The full potential of the medium through color and

washes was explored by major French painters such as Laut r eq

Degas , Manet , Renoir , Pissarro , Cezanne , and Redon . During

this period zince plates began to be used . 17

American-born artist James Abbott MacNeill Whistler

created 166 lithographs of merit , working in London and

Paris .

In the United States , lithography flourished as a

method that permitted widespread publication of popular

images . Before the middle of the nineteenth century , a

16Jules Heller , Printmaking Today , pp . 17-20 .

17Ross and Romano, The Complete Printmaker , p . 191 .

30

fi r m consolidated under the name of Currier & Ives and by

1857 had begun to issue lithographic prints for a wide mar-

ket . The subjects , treated by a number of artists , covered

a tremendous range of city views , rural scenes , Civil War

engagements , ships , trains , architecture , and episodes of

hunting , fishing , and genre narrative - all drawn on stone

a nd ex ecuted in col or . Fanny Farmer was one of the most

a ctive and prolific lithographers employed . She executed

hundreds of stones in a distinctive style of her own . 18

In the early twentieth century the German expression­

ists used lithography with inventiveness and individualism .

Emi l Nol de , Ernst Kirchner , and Norwegian Edvard Munch pro-

duced notabl e works .

Picasso , the master graphic artist , was captivated by

the possibilities of lithography and created innovative

works in the 1940 ' s .

There has been a rich resurgenc e of the medium , no t

onl y in France after World War II , but also in England with

notabl e works by Henry Moore , Graham Sutherland , and others .

In the United States , independent workshops in the

fift i es and sixties were extremely influential in involving

the arti st in lithography . The Tamarind Lithography Work­

shop in Los Angel es was abl e , through private funding , to

18Jul es Hell er , Printmaking Todal , pp . 36- 37 ·

31

commission both artists already involved in prints and pain~

ers and sculptors who had never done a print to experience

the medium .

The Pratt Graphics Center in New York City has be en a

lively workshop in which both American and foreign artists

take classes in lithography or simply use the fine facil­

ities . Universal Limited Art Editions , located on Long

Island , and directed by Tatyana Grossman, has publi s hed

editions of lithographs by painters and sculptors such as

Robert Rauschenberg , Larry Rivers , Helen Fra nkenthal er ,

Grace Hartigan , Jasper Johns , and James Rosenqui s t .

The appearance of skilled arti s t-printmaker s of lith­

ographs promises a rich potential for futur e expression and

exploration . 19

THE PAPER PLATE LITHOGRAPH PRINT

The development of a paper master for lithography

occurred in the early 1960 ' s . The process , called Litho­

Sketch , uses a stiff paper master which is specially tr eat ed

to hol d greasy lines made by litho pencils , crayons , or

tusche which repel the water and attract the ink , t he basic

principle and original method of stone lithography .

The supplies necessary for the Litho-Sketch process are

relatively inexpensive and are avail able from many art

19Ross and Romano, The Complete Printmaker , p . 192 .

32

suppliers . The process is quite suitable for school situ­

ations and has much potential .

Tools and Materials

To prepare the plate : Litho-Sketch Master paper plates

(available in several sizes , and are eas ily cut) , marking

tools such as litho crayons , litho pencils , liquid tusche ,

wax crayons .

To print : Litho-Sketch plate solution, lithography ink ,

brayers , glass or plastic inking surface , gum arabic solu­

tion , cotton balls , rags , (or commercial paper wipes) ,

sponges , hard-surfaced printing paper , old magazines or

newspapers to ink plates on , mineral spirits for cleaning ,

spoons or roller type press

To dry prints: clothesline method or drying rack

Procedure

1. Drawing is executed on the plate surface using litho pe~

cils and crayons , liquid tusche (with a drawing pen) , or

waxy media such as standard crayons or cray-pas . Because

the presensitized surface is sensitive to skin oils , it

should be protected by a cover sheet . Sgraffito , or scratch­

ing techniques into value-developed areas , is also possible .

Using a sharp tool for scratching , carefully avoid punctur­

ing the plate . If liquid tusche is used , it is important to

allow it to dry completely . All images will be reversed .

A Litho- Sketch eraser is available for removing images that

33

are unwanted , in a wet or dry state . Leaving a white border

about one half inch from each edge will help in avoiding ink­

ing problems l ater . Gum solution may be applied to large

areas of white surface to insure protection from ink pickup .

2 . The presensitized plate is desensitized by moistening

the entire surface with Ensink Plate Solution , using a satu­

rated applicator (cotton or commercial wipe ) . The entire

surface must remain moist during t he subsequent inking of

the plate , but not saturated . The non-image areas remain

clear because the moisture lying in these areas rejects the

oil-bas ink fro m the brayer . Keeping an adequate filrr of

moisture on the plate surface whil e inking is the critical

point of the lithographic process. Inadequate moisture

control i s the cause of most beginners ' problems .

3. A stiff l itho ink must be used in the inking process , as

etching or block printing ink will not work . The ink is

roll ed out thinly on the inking s l ab . A soft printmaking

brayer , or composition type roller , is used to ink the paper

litho plate . The plate must r emain moist during the inking

process . If any of the plate surface dries while ink roll ­

ing , unmoistened image areas will fill in with unwanted ink .

Overinked areas can be r eopened by wiping the pl ate surface

agai n with a moistened applicator . Unwanted ink should wipe

off filled-in areas after moisture is reintroduced to t he

plate surface. Quick but gentl e passes with the inking

J4

roller over the image areas will charge the drawing with ink.

The brayer i s replenished with ink by re- rolling it on the

inking slab . Keeping count of the number of ink passes

across the i mage area is necessary for consistent inking

throughout the entire edition . Initial proofs are usually

light until an adequate l ayer of ink has been built up over

the image . Full strength blacks should be available by the

third proof , For most effective inking , the brayer should

be as wide as the width of the image . It is difficult to

ink a large image area with a small brayer because brayer

lap marks will be difficult to roll out . The inked image is

ready f or proofing .

4 . Newsprint is recommended as the initial proofing paper .

Any flat bed roller type printing pressure wil l work . Small

etching presses work admirably . Spoons work satisfactorily

on small prints . The freshly inked plate is placed on the

press bed and is covered with proofing paper . Both are

covered with a blanket layer of cushion papers and run

through the press wi th moderate pressure . The print is re­

moved and the plate returned to the worktable for desensitiz ­

ing and r e i nking . This procedure is repeated for each print .

When the edition has been printed , the plate can be saved for

future printing if the r esidue ink is removed by r unning the

plate through the press with clean paper without r einking the

image . The ent ire plate surface should be protected by

35

wiping a watery solution of gum arabic over it until the

surface dries . The plate is then covered and stored . Al­

though paper pl ate editions are usuall y smaller than those

achieved by using metal plates or stone , it depends upon the

type of drawing , or the drawing materials used . Beginners

should expect to get six to ten good prints .

Identical procedures of drawing , desensitizing , inkin&

and printing are utilized in color lithographic printing .

As in other color additive processes , a system of registra­

tion must be developed so that color placement is control­

lable . The fol l owing simple process is effective .

Imagine we are editioning a three- color print ; a

yellow plate (plate 1) , a blue plate (pl ate 2) , and a r ed

plate (plate J ) . Prepare plate 1 and print the desired num­

ber of prints . While the ink is still damp , place a print

face down on a clean, identical sized new Litho-Sketch plate.

Run both through the printing press . Moist ink from the

print will transfer to the clean plate surface (plate 2) and

produce a visibl e transfer of the yellow image . Additional

drawn areas are added to plate 2 and it is subsequently

printed in blue . The blue image is printed on top of each

yellow print . The only registration needed is to perfectly

align the edges of plate 2 with the plate edge mark of plate

1 which remains visible due to the press pressure on the

print paper . The internal configurations are in automatic

36

registration because the additive drawings have been placed

on the new plate with the initial image in a fixed position .

A moist proof of the blue image is positioned on the third

clean plate and run through the press. Drawing is again

added in reference to the blue image and the third plate

(red ) is printed over the first two colors . An internal im­

age regi stration has been accompl ished by registering to the

embossed plate edges of the previous plates . In graphic

terms , color addition is similar to silkscreen, woodcut , or

linocut complexities . As is often the case , constraints of

class time can be a significant factor governing students '

choice of color complexities .

The paper lithography process allows students to de­

velop and reveal graphic ideas . Its flexibilities , modest

cost , and satisfying results are most effective in intro-

ducing the concepts and techniques of lithography . It

allows the student to make and share a significant image

through graphic multiples .20

Figure 6 on page 37 shows two paper lithograph plates

and prints from the plates .

20William Schulman , "Paper Plate Lithography ," School Arts , April 1980 , PP· 34-37 ·

37

Fig . 6 . In the center are two paper lithograph plates . Liquid tusche was used on the floral print , litho pencils were used on the portrait .

CHAPTER V

STENCIL PRINTMAKING

The stencil process can be traced back 20 , 000 years to

the caves at Les Eyzies and Lascaux where prints of hands

appear on the walls among the reindeer and hors e paintings .

These prints were stenciled by placing the hand on the wall

of the cave and blowing pigments through a reed or hollow

bone onto the area l eft uncovereed by the hand . The hand

was then removed to reveal the stenciled print . For centu-

ries the stencil was used for applying areas of color to

walls , textiles , and furniture . The Egyptians and the

Greeks used stencils to decorate their pots , fabrics , and

buildings . Children of Roman times learned the letters of

their alphabet by drawing through l ettered cut stencils . 21

Stencil printing in China and Japan was a highly devel­

oped technique . Intricate images of great delicacy and com­

plexity were cut from durable sheets of thin waterproof

paper doubled . Freestanding stencil forms and thin linear

areas were held together with fine threads of silk or human

hair glued between the double s tencil paper . Sometimes the

silk threads or hairs were attached to the stencils in a

21Frances Lassiter and ing - Methods and Materials, ing Co . 1978) P · 5·

Norman Lassiter , Scr een Print­(Philadelphia : Hunt Manufactur-

38

39

regular grid so fine than when the stencil was printed on

s i lk with delicate water-based colors or dyes the lines of

the grid were never visible . Some sources feel that this

mesh- like weave may have suggested the use of silk as a

printing vehicle .

In the Orient the stencil developed as both fine art

and craft . Chinese and Japapnese artists and artisans used

it to make stencil pictures and screens and to print fabrics

for robes and decoration .

European craftsmen adopted more utilitarian aspects of

stencils . In Northern Europe stencils were used to color

playing cards and religious pictures from woodblocks . Grad­

ually the craft began to be used to enhance furniture , fab­

rics, and wallpaper . In France stenciled wallpaper enjoyed

great popularity under the inventive development of Jean

Papillon . Oiled paper stencils and then metal stencils were

often used to make intricate designs. Homes in New England

in the eighteenth and ear~y nineteenth century were fill ed

with stenciled papers , walls, textiles , and furnishings .

The earliest documentation of a patent for a silkscreen

process is the record of one awarded to Samuel Simon of Man­

chester , England , in 1907 . Simon ' s patent covered a screen ,

but did not use a squeegee . He employed a brush similar to

that used in stenciling to distribute the paint. Improve­

ments and developments spread fairly rapidly in spite of

40

the early secretiveness about the new process. The silk­

screen had obvious commercial application . 22

Since screen printing does not involve indirect trans­

fer by extreme pressure as other processes do , it is not con­

fined to paper . The fact that the image does not reverse

also makes the medium very versatil e . Screen printing can

be applied to almost any surface - glass , fabric , wood, met-

al , and plastic , to mention but a few . There can be little

wonder why it was seized upon by commercial printers . Its

unique characteristics ma6e it capable of successfully com­

peting with other printing processes . Screen printing is

used on items all around us - wallpaper , bumper stickers ,

decals , signs , posters , T- shirts , bottles , cans , highway and

traffic signs , pennants , boxes , greeting cards , and , of

course , fine art prints . 2J

The evolution of the stencil process into a unique

fine arts medi um was , however , a development that took place

mainly in the United States in the 19JO ' s , when it came to

the fore with astonishing rapidity . In a sense it was a

product of the economic crisis , for it grew out of the great

stimulus of the WPA Federal Arts Project . About two years

after the project was initiated , a separate screen printing

unit of the New York City WPA Art Proj ect was set up with

22Ross and Romano , The Complete Printmaker , pp . 149- 50.

2JLassiter and Lassiter , Screen Printing. p . 5 .

41

Anthony Velonis as its head , and much as owed to his pio­

neering technical and aesthetic achievements . Museums and

critics began to show interest in silkscreening , and Carl

Zigrosser , art historian and curator , christened the term

serigraph to identify the new prints . "Seri" is from the

Latin work meaning silk , and "graph" i s from the greek

graphos , meaning to draw or write.

This versatile process offers challenging color poss ­

ibilities, adaptability to new mat erials and still newer

aesthetic cons iderations , and richly satisfying optical

effects . 24

THE SCREEN PRINT

one of t h e many advantages of screen printing is that

it does not r equire elaborate mechanical apparatus . The

necessary equipment can be simple , qui te ine xpensive , and

portable . The basic printing unit cons i sts of a fabric­

covered frame , the sc r een , which is hinged to a baseboard ,

upon which the printing is done , and a squeegee , which i s

used to apply the ink .

Tools and Materials

To prepare the scr een : purchased prepared screen , or pre-cut

wood strips , pine or redwood frame lumber; synthetic fabric ,

tacks , staples and staplegun, or cord for attaching fabric ;

24Jules Heller , Printmaking Today , p . 271 .

42

gummed paper tape ; shellac or urethane varmish ; plywood or

other suitable material for baseboard ; loose pin hinges,

bol ts .

To prepare the image on the screen: waxed paper or tracing

paper ; masking tape; exacto knife ; cardboard ; liquid block­

out ; brushes . (Several stencil methods will be described . )

To print : squeegee; wat er-based or oil- based inks ; textile

inks for fabric; paper; rags and paper towel s ; solvents for

cleaning purposes .

Procedure

1. Finished screens can be purchased , or can be built with

less expense . Pre-cut grooved and miter ed l umber strips

are available from art suppliers in many s i zes . Pine or

redwood strips can also be cut and used . Joining is done

with nails, corrugated stapl es , or screws . Mitered corners

can be strengthened with glue . Synthetic fabrics are suit­

able for school use and can be purchased in coarse to very

fine weaves . Common methods of attaching fabric to the

frame are with tacks , staples , and a cord and groove method .

The damp fabric is stretched and tacked down in the centers

of each side , and gradually fast ened toward each corner .

Gummed paper tape should be used to seal the edges where the

frame and the fabric meet . Then shellac or urethane varnish

is used to seal the tape , using several coats .

The other major component of the printing unit is the

43

baseboard which holds the screen and forms the printing sur­

face . The printing area must be flat and smooth since i t

supports the paper and carries the registration tabs for

accurate stencil alignment . The base should be several inch-

es longer and wider than the largest print to be used on it ,

and can be made of plywood or other suitable materials . The

screen frame is attached to the hinge bar on the base with

loose-pin hinges to allow for easy removal . The hinge bar ~

The same thickness as the frame , and it is bolted to the base

with carri age bolts . A kick-leg can be added to the side of

the screen with a screw to support the screen when removing

prints from base .

, - squeegee

Fig . 7. A common screen printing set- up .

2 . The stencil functions as a mask with open areas which

a llow ink to pass through to the paper or other material

beneath it . The covered areas act as a mask which blocks

the flow of ink . There are four basic screen printing

stencil types : hand cut , block- out , tusche resist and photo-

44

graphic . The hand cut and block- out methods require a min­

imal amount of materials for school use and are recommended ,

but the pho tographic and tusche resist method should a l so

be explored if time and materials allow . Kits are available

for photo- silkscreen methods from art suppliers . Each meth­

od will be descreibed briefly:

A. The hand cut stencil involves cutting a mask in

paper or a special fi l m stencil made specifically as a sep­

arate el ement for screen printing. After it has been cut ,

the stencil is attached to the screen . The hand cut paper

stencil i s the s i mplest form of stencil . A heavy tracing

paper can b e us ed . It is placed over the art work for trac­

ing the i mage . The paper is then placed on cardboard and

cut with a very sharp exacto knife . The adhesive natur e of

the i nk will hol d the stencil in place under the screen for

a small number of prints . Glue or rubber cement can be used

to attach paper stencil s to the screen. Masking tape and

adhesive backed papers can also be used as paper stencils .

The othe r hand cut stencil method involves a commercially

prepared film lightl y bonded to a transparent plastic back­

ing sheet . Wat er- sol ubl e and l acquer films are available .

After the stencil is cut and the printing area is pulled

away and discarded , the fi l m i s adhered to the screen with

the appropriate solvent , with rags or paper towels . The

plastic backing can then be removed .

45

B. The direct block-out method fills in the areas

not to be printed . The image to be printed is placed under

the screen and traced on to the screen with a soft pencil .

The screen is then pla ced on small blocks so that i t does

not touch the surface below it . A sui tabl e liquid block- out

material is used , with appropriate sized brushes , to fil l in

areas not to be printed . Mor e t han one coat may be needed .

The screen is then dried and is ready to print .

C. The tusche resist stencil also works directl y on

the fabric. The design is traced on to the screen with a

soft p encil , then liquid tusche is painted into the areas

t hat are to be printed . After drying , (a fan may be used) ,

a water soluble glue i s s queegeed with a stiff piece of card­

board across the entire inside of the screen fabric . When

thoroughly dry , the screen is placed flat on a pad of news­

papers , and mineral spirits or turpentine are poured into

the screen to saturate it . Since the gl~e is water soluble ,

the mineral spirits will not affect it . However , with a lit­

tle light rubbing , the solvent dissolves the tusche which is

soluble in it. When t he tusche has been comple tely removed ,

the screen will ~ave open areas for ink to pass through ,

while the gl ue will act as a screen filler . A similar meth­

od employing a drawing fluid and scr een filler is available

from Hunt Speedball Co .

D. In the direct photographic stencil method , a thick liquid

46

emulsion is used to coat the cl ean screen fabric directly .

The coated screen is dri ed away from light and heat . Then

a posi tive image , e ither photographic or hand- drawn , is

placed on the dried emulsion and exposed to a light source .

After exposure , the screen is washed and the warm water re­

moves any parts of the stencil that were masked by the pos­

itive . The screen is dried and any area , space , or pinhol e

not inteded for print i ng is filled in with screen filler .

In the indirect method , a film i s used which comes in sheet

or roll form . It is composed of a gelatin- like substance

coated on a clear plastic backing. The film is cut slight­

ly l arger than the image . The film and the positive are

placed in contact with each other , usual ly in a vacuum frame

or under wei ghted gl ass , and expo sed to the light source .

Then the film is treated in a sensitizer bath , a solution

of peroxide and water . The next step is to gently wash the

film side with warm water . The wet film is placed on a pad

of newspaper and the screen is lowered gently into the damp

emulsion, which adheres to it . Any pinholes are blocked with

screen fi ller . The "positive" referred to can be an actual

photographic image on a clear base film or an image dravm on

acetate with an opaque ink . The light , during exposure ,

hardens any unblocked positive areas .

J . Before the printing is begun it is important to have all

the required materials conveniently at hand . This includes

47

the s queegee , the ink , masking tape , newspaper , paper towels,

scissors , and the correct solvent for ink . After the sten­

cil is made and the scr een properly set up on the base , the

printing operation is quite simpl e . Many screen printers

employ the "off - contact" technique of printing . This in­

volves creating a situation whereby the screen , when lowered

to the printi ng position does not make contact with the pa­

per until it is forced down by the squeegee . Pieces of car~

board are inserted under the hinge bar and small strips of

cardboard are taped to the two opposite corners of the

screen frame . This keeps the screen , when lowered to the

printing position , from touching the surface by about one

ei ghth inch . Because t he screen does not touch the paper

until forced down by the squeegee , the printed edges will be

cleaner and sharper . This avoids a double image from the

previous print ' s ink . Registration tabs are attached to

the base , as shown in Fig . 7 , page 4J . Tabs are made from

thin , stiff cardboard or plastic and are taped down . This

is necessary for proper alignment of subsequent colors . The

printing operation begins with ink poured into the edge of

the screen. The screen is rai sed one to two inches and the

squeegee pulls the ink from one side of the screen to the

other leaving a thin film of ink on top of the stencil . Th~

is called the "flood strol e " - its purpose is to fill the

open image area with ink . Then the screen is allowed to

48

rest on the kick- l eg while a sheet of paper is positioned .

The screen is lowered gently to the printing position . The

squeegee is us ed to pull the ink back across the screen with

a firm , steady stroke . This forces the ink through the ste~

cil and prints the image on the paper ; this is called the

"printing stroke ." The whole process is repeated until the

desir ed number of images have been printed . After the print­

ing operations , screens shoul d be thoroughly cleaned and the

stencils r emoved for future use of the screen . 25

The screen printing process offers the student and ar~

ist unli mited possibilities to explore . In a school situa­

t ion , the proc ess is suitable for prints , posters , fabric

desi gning , banners , T- Shirts , pillows , and other uses .

Figure 8 on page L~9 shows a print using a photographic

stencil combined with lacquer film stencil for large color

areas . Figure 9 is an example using a liquid block-out

stencil .

25Lassiter and Lassiter , Screen Printing - Contemporary Methods and Materials , PP• 6- 40 .

Pig . 8 . In this seriFraph , l~cqucr film stencil waG used for the large color areas . A photoGraphic stencil was used for the line work , printed in black .

Pig . 9 . A liquid block-out stencil was used for this print . The metal­lic gold oil-based ink was printed over water based iM .

CHAPTER VI

COLLAGRAPH PRINTMAKING

The term collagraph was first applied to collage prin~

by Gl en Alps . A teacher at the University of Washington in

1956 , Alps was conducting the experiments he has described

thus :

Some of the experiments incl uded the printing of natural and man- made textures , surfaces , cutout shapes , areas , and forms by roll-up , rubbing , relief , and in­taglio methods of printing . Most of these wPre printed as loose , individual pieces in arranged complcm~nts . Then the impression was evaluated , selected , cut up , rearranged , and gl ued to form collage units .

The n ext step was obvious . We f elt the n~ctssity to a rrange these final impressions into more substan­tial , physically immobile arrangements . To accomplish this , we stapled or glued them to plywood , Upsom board , cardboa r d , or Masonite panels . A~ proofs were pulled , and techniques improved , the knowledge of the potential of thi s proc edure grew into an overwhelmin~ conviction that our experiments were l eading to a vital force in contemporary graphi cs .

During thi s period of experimenting , our group real­ized that we must have a name for our new approach , or philos ophy . After enthusiastic d~scuss~o': , it w~s.u­nanimous l y agreed that we call th1s add1t1ve pos1t1ve way of developing a matrix collagraphy .

The first works called collagraphs were exhibited in

the Northwest Printmakers Annual at the University of \•/ash-

ington in 1957 . In 1958 Alps ' Collagraph No . 12 was shown

in the Brooklyn National Print Exhibition . 26

26Jules Heller , Printmaking Today , pp . 178-179 .

50

51

The i nnovating experiments with collage and assemblage

by the earl y twentieth century artists Picasso , Matisse ,

and Gri s did much to open the way for the later printmaker ' s

use of unorthodox materials . This freedom of concept and

use of mater ials had a direct influence on many contemporary

printmakers . 27

Diverse materials such as fabric , masonite , tape , met-

al, and found objects are just some of the materials used

for construction of a coll agraph plate . Collagraphy is a

technique to stimulate discovery and expression . The mat er­

ial s are inexpensive yet rich in tactile quality . They can

yiel d designs of extreme simplicity or complexity but all

can achieve successful statements of shape and form . While

sel ecti ng found objects and a variety of materials , students

become original and inventive .

In the process of construction , otherwise ordinary

materials take on new meaning . Designs are built which ,

when printed , produce subtle values of whi te and black or

color . Mani pulation of the materials within the additive

process provides a sense of visual design not easily atta~

in other media .

Since there are many materials and methods of constru~

tion for a collagraph plate , students must be aware of the

27John Ross and Clare Romano , Th e Complete New Tech­ni~ues in Printmaking, (New York : The Free Press , 1974 , p . JO.

52

problems they generate . A simple fabric can emit rich tex­

tural effects that dominate the student instead of being a

vehicle for personal expression . It is wise , therefore , to

do more with less ! If levels of materials are built too

high , the plate will not flow freely under the printing

pres s . All surfaces , unless necessary to produce an inher-

ent va l ue , must be made non-porous to stand up to the oil

based inks and solvents used in printing .

There are , then , concerns with the process but nothing

that stands in the way of completing successful pieces of

art . The l earning and creativity that emerGe are well wort.h

the studen ' s effort , energy , and skill . Drawing , relief

scul pture , and the process of printmaking merge for positive 28

and handsome results .

THE COLLAGRAPH PRINT

The collagraph print is an excellent printmaking ac­

t ivi ty which employs both relief and intaglio techniques .

The proc ess i s r e l atively inexpensive , considering the in­

credible range of materials which may be used .

Tools and Materials

To prepare the plate : thin Masonite , plexiglas , or heavy

cardboard for base ; a variety of papers and mat board scraps;

28Jack Zichitella , "Collagraphs , " Arts and Activities , November 1979 , PP · 28 - 29 ·

53

fabrics , trims , laces ; tapes; modeling paste ; sandpaper ;

found objects such as washers and coints ; sc i ssors and exac­

to knives ; gesso and polymer medium; white gl ue ; brushes ;

s i ngl e- edged razor blades ; spray plastic sealer .

To print : phone book pages : oil-based and water-based inks ;

s tiff brushes ; brayers ; approproate solvents ; inking slab :

Tarl atan or cheesecloth ; wringer type press or etching

press with felts (a piece of sheet foam rubber one fourth

inch or thicker will aid in printing collagraphs )

Procedure

1. A preliminary sampl er collagraph can be made to under

s t and the way the materia ls will print . On the chosen base ,

glue a variety of materials down . Cuts can be added to the

surface to produce intaglio lines . Modeling paste , gesso ,

and glue can be brushed on to give variety to the line or

mass . Materials such as sand , coffee grounds and sawdust

will g ive t extural interest .

Al low the mat erials to dry well and then seal the

surface with a spray plastic sealer or polymer medium . If

Masonite is used as a base , it may need to be beveled on the

edges to ease printing and to avoid sharp pl ate marks in

the f elts .

2 . Ink can first be applied with small squares of cut mat

board . A stiff brush will help to fill in deeper areas .

The plate shoul d then be wiped with Tarlatan or cheesecloth ,

54

f ollowed by phone book pages . A brayer is then used to ink

the relief surface areas . Place the plate on the press bed .

Dampened and blotted paper is placed over the plate , and a

piece of foam should be placed over paper if available .

The ~elt blankets are then pulled down . Experimentation

will determine the correct pressure . The plate is run

through the press . When correct pressure is determined ,

continue r e-inking to print the edition .

After the prints are dry , they can be signed and

matted as in other printmaking processes .

For multicolor printing , it may be helpful to cut the

plate apart with a saw . After inking it can be reassembled

for printing on the bed of the press .29

The collagraph continues to be an exciting method for

students and artists to explore , and it is very adaptible to

a school situation .

29Ross and Romano , Xhe Complete Nbw Technigu~s in Printmaking , pp . JJ- )8 .

CHAPTER VII

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

This study was undertaken to develop a printmaking

curriculum for a high school art education program. Se­

lected activiti es have been described which the author feels

can be realistically and successfully accomplished without

great expense . Budget limitations are one factor that must

be considered by most art teachers .

The history and art appreciation aspcch of printmaking

are very important and should be allowLd adequate class time.

Reproductions and slides can be shown to allow the student

to develop a better understanding of the similarities and

differences in printmaking methods , and to study composition

and use of subject matter . Films and filmdtrips are avail­

able covering printmaking methods and techniques . A know­

l edge of the correct terms associated with printmaking

should be developed , and a familiarity with the major print­

makers who wer e instrumental in the evolution of the art .

Critiques and discuss i ons should be conducted as learning

tools . The reading of current art periodicals and visits

to museums will build an awareness of continuing develop­

ments . Invitations to professional printmakers should be

extended to visit the class or speak to a school group .

55

56

Exhibits and sales can be sponsored throughout the

year , and demonstrations are recommended for the education

of other s . At a high school in Austin , Texas , the art de­

partment has been able to raise funds for equipment and

supplies thr ough print sales at the school and in local

gal l eri es . The students can donate one print to the depart­

ment , and will still have the rest of the 8dition to sell ,

trade with other students , or give as gifts . Proper mat~ng

t echni ques shoul d be observed .

The area of printmaking has tremendous potential for

self- expression and personal awareness by the student , and

experimentation with new ideas should always be encouraged .

It is hoped that this study will provide helpful information

in the formulation of a curriculum model in printmaking as

a depth program at the high school level .

APPENDIX A

A COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL GRAPHIC ARTS PROCESSES

57

A COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL GRAPHIC ARTS PROCESSES

PROCESS RELIEF I NTAGLIO PLANOGRAPHIC

A. Woodcut Etching

COMMON Linoleum Cut Engraving Lithography

NArl!E : Embossing Drypoint B. Wood Engr a v- Aqua tint

i ng COLLO ~RAPH

WHAT

~ ~ ~~21 AREA PRINTS :

Prints what i s Prints what i s Prints what i s l eft of the below the sur- dra\'m on the ori ginal surface face of plate surface A. Spoon , Bar en Etching Press Litho Press

TYPE B. Washi ngton (Clotheswringer (sl idi ng , scrap-OF Press , Letter- type) ing pressure)

PRESS : pr~="SS

~ 6-· + 8 A. Plank- grain Limestone ,

Wood Copp -,r , Zinc , Alum-MATERIALS : Linoleum Zinc , Plastics , inum Plates , B. ~nd-grain etc . e-cc .

~Jood

Knif '"' , :tchir.g N- cdle , Litno Crayons , BJ\SIC Gou:="e , Burin , Burin , Acid , Tusche , Litho TOOLS : etc . Grounds , etc . Inks , etc .

STENCI L

Serigraphy or Screen Printi ng

~:,e§s: Prints open a r eas of the stencil I

Screen and Squeegee , by hand

• I • Silk , Nylon , Organdie , Synthetics

Squeegee , Screen , Tusche , Glue , Lacquer Film, Blackout , etc .

\..}\ 0)

APPENDIX B

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES OF PRINTMAKING CURRICULUM

59

60

EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES OF PRINTMAKING CURRICULUM

ART CONCEPT

BEHAVIORAL OBJECTIVES

PROCESS

PRODUCT

CRITICAL DEVELOPMENT

CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Printmaking is any method in which an artist makes multipl e original images from one orib­ina l design , increasing the availability of art for private ownership .

The l earner will produce editions of prints d emonstrating knowl edge of printmaking process es , craftsmanship , and l abeling .

A. Rel ief print - linoleum plate , carving tools , brayer , ink

B. I ntaglio - plasLic plate , etching needle c . Li thography - cardboard litho plate , plate

s olution, litho ink D. Stenci l - silkscreen fram.:. , sq·a cree E . Collograph - mat board , fabric , modeling

paste

A. Relief - linoleum print , embossing B. Intaglio - drypoint print c . Li thography- lithograph print o. Stencil - serigraph E . Collograph - collograph print

Identify the terms : edition , brayer , baren , s queegee , registration , etc .

Knowl edee of work by such arti~ts as Ourer , Toulouse-Lautrec , Gaugu1n , Escher , Picasso . 1

l sonni e Wilder , Curriculum Development Proj ect , University of Houston , Houston , Texas , 1979 .

APPENDIX C

SOURCES FOR PRINTMAKING SUPPLIES

61

SOURCES FOR PRINTtv!AKING SUPPLIES

Advanc e Process Suppl y Co . , 2626 Brenner Dr . , Dallas , Tx . 75220 (screen print i ng supplies)

Dick Blick Co ., P . O. Box 1267 , Gal esburg , Ill ., 61401 (gen · )

The Cra f t ool Co . , 1427 W. 240th St ., Harbor City , Calif . (general)

Colonia l Printing Ink Co ., Inc . , 180 E . Union Ave , East Rutherford , N. J , 07073 (screen printing )

Sam Flax Co . , 25 E . 28th St . , New York , N.Y. 10016 (general)

Graphic Chemical and Ink Co . , 728 N. Yale Ave . , Villa Park , Ill . 60181 ( gener a l)

Hunt Mfg . Co . , 1405 Locust St ., Phila . , Pa . 19102 (general)

Litho-Ske tch Cor p . , 400 w. Mad ison , Chicago , Ill . 60606 (paper plate lithography supplies )

Nasco , 1524 Princ eton Ave . , Modesto , Calif . 95352 (general)

Naz-Dar Co . , 1087 N. North Branch St . , Chicago , Ill . , 60622 (s creen printing )

New York Central Supply , 62 Third Ave ., New York , N. Y. 10003 (genera l)

Rembra ndt Graphic Arts Co . , Inc . Stockton , N.J . 08559 (gen .)

Strathmore Paper Co ., West Springfi eld , Mass ., 01089 (papers)

Tria rco Arts & Cr afts , 14650 28th Ave . North , Plymouth , Mn . 55441 (general)

62

APPENDIX D

AUDIO-VISUAL AIDS AND SOURCES

6J

AUDIO-V ISUAL AIDS AND SOURCES

Col or Reproductions

Art Education , Inc ., Blauvel t , N.Y. 1091)

Artext Prints , Inc ., Westport , Conn . 06880

Associat ed Amer ican Artists , Inc . , 66) Fifth Avenue , New Yor k , N.Y . 10022

Met ropoli t a n Museum of Art Book and Art Shop , Fifth Avenue a nd 82nd St ., New York , N. Y. 10028

New York Gr aphic Society , 140 Greenwich Avenue , Greenwich , Conn . 068)0

Re inhold Publ i shi ng Co ., 4)0 Park Avenue , New York , N. Y. 10022

Uni ver s ity Prints , 15 Brattle Street , Harvard Square , Cam­br i dge , Mass . 02138

Fil ms a nd Filmstrips

Graphi c Chemical & Ink Co . has available several movies and f ilmstrips availabl e on a free r ental basis . The only re­quire ment i s a prompt return with $)00 inGurancl . Address i s on suppliers listing . The movies ar~ : Color Lithography -an Art Medi um; Etching and Color Intagl1o ; Screen Print in by Hunt / Speedball ; The Collagraph ; The Printmaker . The fi l ms t rips are : How To Do : Creative Printmak~r ; Screen Proc ess Printing . These are booke~ well 1n advance , alter­nat e request dates should be suppl1ed .

The Art and Cr aft of Printmaking by Arik Kilemnik and ~duca­tiona l Des ign , Inc ., New York . This filmstrip/cassette spot­lights linol eum bl ock and woodcut relief printmaking .

Printmaking - Four Ar~ists , Fo~r Me~ia , produce~ by BFA , 1968 . 16mm color fil m, 19 ffilnutes . c xpla1ns four bas1c methods .

Artist ' s Proof , by Robert Erskine , color fil~ , 25 minutes . Six Bri t i sh artis t s demonstrate a woodcut , lithograph , etch­ing aquatint engraving , and silkscreen . Distributed in the ' uni t ed St~tes by Brandon Films , J4 ~acQuesten Parkway South , Mt . Vernon , N. Y. 10550 .

64

APPENDIX E

A GLOSSARY OF PRI NTMAKING TERMS

65

A GLOSSARY OF PRINTMAKING TERMS

1 . ~quatint : an intaglio process in which a porous ground of r es1n or ot her substances is applied to a plate , heated , and etched ; produces a range of tonal values .

2 . Arti st ' s proof : a proof reserved for the artist for his own record or use , excluded from the numbering of the edi­tion .

J . Ba r en: a s l ightly convex tool with a handle which is used f or burni shing the back of the paper in relief printing .

4 . Bench hook : a safety device used to keep a wood or lino­leum bl ock from slipping during cuLting , made by faGtcning t wo c l eats at opposit e ends and sides of a board .

5. Bl ankets : rectangl es of felt (or foam rubber) used be­t ween t h e paper and the roller in an etching pres~ . u~u~lly t hree blankets ar e used : the s i zing catch~r , next to the paper , the pusher , and the cushion .

6 . Bon a tirer : (Fre nch , " good to pull ." ) A proof so labeled by the artist to indicate that the quali ty of the printing meets his requirements and that it may ~erve as the st~ndard for pri nti ng the edition . Also called printer ' s proof .

?. Ca ncellation proof : a proof mad e from a defaced stone , plate , bl ock , or screen , to show that no furlh~r prints can be made from the original art work .

8 . Collagraph : a print pulled from a surface built up in the col lage manner .

9 . Desensiti ve : in lithography , to treat a drawing on a stone or plate with acidified gum etch so that th~ undrawn areas become insensitive to grease and will not print .

10 . Dr ypoi nt : an intaglio process in which the plate is need­led with a steel point , inked , wiped , and printed . The burr cr eated by the cut of the need~e provides.a.warm, velvety l i ne , but tends to break down 1n large ed1t1ons .

11 . Edit i on : t he total number of prints pulled and authenti ­cated by the artist for . distribution . The eleventh print in an edi tion of fifty 1s numbered as follows : 11/50 .

12 . Embossing : creating a raised image or design element in the surface of a print . In blind embossing , the raised

66

67

el ement is printed without ink and thus appears white (or paper color . )

1J . Eng~av~n~ : in t~e in~aglio and r eliev e processes , the act of 1nc1s1ng a l 1ne w1th a burin or graver into a metal plate or the end-grain block of wood .

1L~ . Etching : an intagl io process in which a n acid-resistant ground is applied to a plate , an image is cut into the ~round with a needl e , and ac id is appli ed to bite the image 1nto the plate for printi ng .

15 . Intaglio : one of the four major divisions of print­making , in which an image is either cut or bitt~n with acid into a metal plate . Ink i s forced into the lines of the image , the surface of the plate is wiped clean , and th~ print i s made wi th the pressure of an etching prL~~ .

16. Linoleum cut : a relief print made from an image cut on a pi ece of battleship linoleum , also called linocut .

17 . Lithography : one of the four major printmaking division in which a drawing is made with a greasy substance on a stone or plate . The surface i s then treated so that the image accepts ink and the non-image areas rep~l ink , and the print is made wi t h a li thographic press .

18 . Planographic printing : printing fron a flat surface ; l ithography .

19 . Proof : an impression made an any stage of the work from an i nked stone , plate , bl ock , or screen ; not part of an edition of prints .

20 . Pull: To make a print by transferring ink to the paper .

21 . Relief printing : one o~ the ~our ~ajor divisions of printmaking , in which the 1mage 1s pr1 nt:d ~rom the surface of a wood or linoleum block (or other ma~erlal) , the non­printing areas having been cut a way .

22 . Registration : plac ement . of the . pap~r , when . printing , so that each succeeding color 1mpress1on 1s made 1n correct r elationship to the first one .

23 . Serigraphy : a t erm originated by Carl Zigrosser for screen printing as a fine arts medium .

24 . Solvent : a liquid capable of dissolving another sub-

68

stance ; mineral spirits ca n be used as a solvent for oil­based printing inks .

25 . Squeegee : a tool consisting of a flat wood en bar with a rubber blade ; us ed to apply ink in stencil printing .

26 . Stencil printing : one of the four major divisions of printmaking , in which paint or ink is forced with a squ eegee through the f abric screen onto the paper . The non-image areas are blocked out on the screen by applying a paper stencil , film , glue , or other specoally prepared products .

27 . Tusche : Grease in liquid or stick form , used in making lithograph drawings ; also used in serigraphy .

28 . Woodcut : A relief print made from a plank grain wood block cut with burins or other tools .

SOURCE : Jules Hell er , Printmaking Todal , ( New York : Holt , Rinehart and Winston , 1972 ) , PP · JJ2-JJl~ .

70

Nationa~ Art Education Association . Art Education : Senior H1gh School . Washington ., D. C. : NAEA , 1972 .

Nationa l A~t Educat ion Association . jhe Essentials of a Quallty School Art Program : A Position Statement by the Nationa l Art Education Association . Virginia : NAEA , 1979 .

O'Connor , John . Introducing Relief Printmaking . New York : Watson Guptill Publications , 197) .

Reid , jr ., William . The Art of Prinlmaking . Maine : J , Weston Walch , Publisher , 1974 .

Rhein , Erich . The Art of Printmaking . New York 1 Van Nos­trand Reinhold , 1976 .

Ross , John and Romano , Cl are . The Complete Printmaker . New York : The Free Press , 1972 .

Ross , John , and Romano , Clare . The Complete New Tt•chniques in Pr intmaking . New York : The Free Press , 1974 .

Roukes , Nicholas . Crafts in Plastics . Guptill Publications , 1972 .

New York : Watson

Russ , Stephen . Fabric Printin~ by Hand . Guptill Publications , 19 2.

New York : Wat.:;on

Schachner , Er win . Step by Step Printmakin6 • New York 1 The Golden Press , 1970 .

Searl e , v., and Clayson , R. Screen Printing on Fabric . New York : Watson Guptill Publicat1ons , 19o8 .

Schulma n , Will iam . "Paper Plate Lithography , " School Arts (April 1980) : J4- J7 .

Stevens , Harold . Transfer : Designs , Textur~s , and Images . Massachusetts : Davis Publicat1ons , 1974 .

Stoltenberg , Donald . Collagraph Printmaking . Massachusetts : Davis Publications , 1975 ·

Termini , Maria . Silk Scr eening . New Jersey : Prentice-Hall , Inc ,, 1978 :

Texas Education Agency . Education Through Art : Secondary School . Bulletin 697 , Austin , Texas : TEA , 19?0 .

Tri tten , Gottfried . . ondary School .

71

Teaching Color and Form in the Sec­New York : Van Nostrand Reinhold , 1975 .

Wasserman , Burton . Exploring the Visual Arts . Massachu­setts : Davis Publications , I nc .• 19?6 .

Wil der . Bonnie . Curriculum Development Proj Gc t . Univ . of Houston . Houston , Texas , 1979 .

Zichitella , Jack . "Collagraphs . " Arts and Activities . (Nov . 1979) : 28-29 .

Zigrosser , Carl . A Guide to the Collecting and Care of Original Prints . New York : Crown Publishers . 1965 .