"Sticky Situations" is a boxed set of 42 relief and silkscreen prints that monumentalize found or gifted "sticky" notes. These documents were chosen not only for their common format but also their content – all invoke situations that are in some way or another “sticky.” Some lists invoke literal stickiness while being emotionally benign (“maple syrup, water”); some carry a charge, such as that which reminds its writer to “call I.R.S.” (That could hardly be good.) Another note, found at a South Portland, Maine veterinary office and pictured above, shows a crude drawing of a dog or cat sporting an ominous y-shaped sutured gash or incision. Collectively “sticky” and individually stuck to the wall in an unframed salon style, these enlarged versions of jottings ranging from urgent (“TAMPONS”) to light-hearted (“Cake in Fridge – Enjoy!”) reflect how contemporary humans are spending the most essential thing we have – our time. Read the review from The Portland Phoenix written by Ken Greenleaf:
Here's a link to the 2009 Engraving Portfolio organized by James Ehlers (Emporia State University) and Gerry Wubben (McNeese State University). Enjoy!
Engraving Images 2009
I was taking apart this wonderful (and crumbling) old book today, and found these amazing illustrations. It's always a pleasant surprise, what lies between the pages of a good book. Just wanted to share my discovery...
For years now, traditional printmakers have been trying to come to terms with the digital revolution and how to place digitally-generated images from the more commercial sector within the framework of fine-art printmaking.
This posting will not delve into these same overcooked debates; this entry has more to do with my observations as a teacher of BOTH traditional and digital printmaking techniques.
The images shown are of “states” of a cd cover image I created as an example for my digital imaging class, where music, imagery, fonts, and text all had to be cohesive. “Walk a mile” refers to both the saying (walk a mile in someone else’s shoes) but is also self-referential. Many of the songs included on the cd are singer-songwriter, blues, and country tunes about walking, running, or traveling. The waves in the background are formed from many “slippahs” (flip-flops for you Mainland folk), characteristic footwear of Hawaii, while the character is a caricature of me in my teaching regalia.
In both digital and traditional printmaking, there is an inherent experimenting, planning, and layering that takes place. Unlike media such as painting, individual layers can usually be removed or altered for future variations or editions. Layering is extremely useful in both traditional and digital media for isolating, editing, or deleting single elements of a print, WITHOUT affecting the rest of the image. Layering is inherent to image creation in Adobe creative software; as with traditional printmaking those layers at the top (of the layers pallet) appear over the layers below them. I liken digital layering to having images on transparencies that are piled one over the next; most layers involve just one element floating in space, allowing windows to view layers below. Layer opacity in both media may also be altered to allow a range of possibilities for viewing the layers below.
Through my experience teaching high school students a variety of art media, I have discovered that this understanding of layering in art helps students transition across the digital – traditional printmaking barriers. Students that have already learned traditional printmaking have been much more adept at learning digital media because of their former understanding of layering, and vice versa.
