meat tray printmaking

I have been looking at my recycle bin a lot lately and asking the question: what recycled material could be reused in making a print.  Not that I eat a lot of meat but over some time, a minimal number of meat trays began to stack up.   Styrofoam meat tray is not a new material used in making prints. Most elementary school age children are introduced to the principles of printmaking with the cutting and/or carving into these meat trays.

So during some COVID-19 free time, I amused myself by creating images with meat trays as a printing substrate.

The following six small paintings were painted en plein air in the NH White Mountains, the pre-pandemic winter and I wanted to re work these images into small prints.

The overlapping planes defining the hillsides were not complex forms.  There was no sun light when I painted and so the landscape's planal shapes were flatten. I choose the upper left image to work from.  Below are the 9 foam shapes I worked with for the printing of the images

Exact-o blades and blunt end pencils were used to cut out the shapes. The Styrofoam surface has lots of air holes.  When this surface is rolled lightly with printing inks and printed on paper, an atmospheric illusion of fog or mist is created.  Incising the foam surface with lines drawn with a pencil will give linear details and textures.

To keep the printing paper in place while switching out inked shapes for over printing, I used a clip board with a right angle taped to the board to help maintain proper positioning of the shapes.  I used a limited palette of pre-mixed Caligo inks (water soluble), very similar in color as the original painting.

I had a very enjoyable afternoon working in the studio experimenting with a limited number of shapes and colors to find multiple solutions. I plan to use my other small NH paintings as a start point for other prints using Styrofoam meat trays as the substrate. And maybe sometime in the future they could be further enhanced by working the printed surface with other media such oil pastels or collage.

Madonna and the Purple Rhodys

This has been an extraordinary time for self isolation  and reflection.  I took it to the studio and treated the 8-10 weeks of social distancing as an artist retreat.  With no distractions and with my family buying my groceries and other staples, I accomplished a lot. I will share just one of those projects with you.

Since outdoor mobility has been on lock down, looking out from within my home has been a renewed pleasure and mindful self-reflection.

This April, I identified a Black Throated Blue Warbler in my grove of rhododendrons outside my office window.  Here is handsome he:

Because my plein air painting group was no longer meeting due to COVID restrictions, I volunteered to give Thursday morning prompts for everyone.  One of the prompts was to paint a windowscape that is, to combine the elements of the interior and exterior world with a window; the near and far.  Often artists will arrange a still life of personal items on a window sill or on a small table placed in front of an open window. I choose to set up a still life at my computer desk consisting of an Easter lily and a wooden icon and a view of  the rhododendron grove.  My rhodys weren’t in bloom at the time in April but what does that matter.

And so I painted this scene in acrylic :

                                   

Which then lead to two, new lino prints.

The first print and its edition was accomplished in just one day; quite an exhausting feat for a hand pulled, reduction print edition. I limited the number of colors and used Caligo water soluble inks. I enjoyed working with these inks for the first time; fast drying and easy clean-up.  The print was created for the International Print Day on May 1.   All submitted prints had to be created in one day. I slept like an old, tired dog the next day.

Since I really like the theme, Madonna  of the Purple Rhodys, I decided to give it another whirl by creating a second print with more colors and upping the composition complexity, typical of my method of working in reductive process. I continued the use of the Caligo inks: three process colors (red, yellow and blue) and white.

My studies/drawings for the second print:

Previously, I mentioned my rhodys weren’t in bloom when I created these images. Well here is a photo of those blooming beauties this June, doubly blessed with a glass table top reflection of the scene out my window.  Such is  inspiration.

Be well,

Susan

Susan Jaworski-Stranc

www.sjaworskistranc-printmaker.com

http://reduction-print.blogspot.com/