Frogman’s 2013

Toad, not frog

Final print, “Jambons (Hams)” 9in x 6in, 5-color lithograph (polyester plate litho). CLICK TO ENLARGE

This year at Frogman’s printmaking workshops I’m taking polyester plate lithography with one of my alltime favorite artists: Katherine Polk and Andy Polk. They are great instructors too!

JULY 9: Today I got the keyline color (black) down in a small edition of 10. With this process, the Polks print the black or dark color keyline first.

Tomorrow we start adding color in transparent layers over the black. Very exciting.

All the other colors are primarily a transparent tint base with just a smidgeon of color added. It’s like painting watercolors or dyes over an ink drawing. The effect is translucent, rich, glowing color. It can be magical.

JULY 11: Here are some of the steps below, in order of printing:

Jabons prints drying on rack, first layer of ink: black.

Color 2: salmon.

Color 3: slightly green cyan.

Color 4: subtle cream-colored overlay (over whole sheet of paper), to sort of antique the image.

Color 5: Golden orange-yellow layer added to hog/platter/ham section of print.

Frogman’s…

…is not just printmaking. They have lectures, artists’ talks, museum/gallery walk, karaoke, bowling, open portfolio…all scheduled on different days/eves. Basically, it’s nonstop printmaking by day and night, with social events most eves.

The other night, after midnight, coming home from bowling, I chanced upon this little critter:

Someone told me this is a Buffo toad.

And here we are, at the bowling alley/bar near the dorm where we stay…. For bowling, your team has to wear a costume. You’re limited to $5 per costume, and so, many folks head to the local thrift shop to find their costumes. We happened upon plastic flower pots and creepy little rubber human heads, which of course gave us the team name of Pot Heads. Green lace and string for capes…

Meet Team Pothead.

And a close-up of our awesome hats:

I finally learned how to do color reduction woodcuts…

…or “How Frogman’s changed my (printmaking) life.”

5 color reduction woodcut, edition: 15, paper size: 22" x 30" (click to enlarge)

Returned from an amazing 1 week out at Frogman’s Print and Paper Workshop in Vermillion, South Dakota. And OMG I can now print in color…with colors in register!! I know it sounds simple, but I’d never perfected a foolproof way to do it (so I’ve always hand-colored black relief prints) until this fantastic workshop, called “The Big Reduction” taught by Nancy Palmeri, who is an incredible instructor as well as a fantastic artist. She taught us everything from how to tear and treat the paper, how to seal in the drawing before cutting, tips on cutting for reduction specifically so that slight off-register colors don’t show up, how to handle paper, inks…yeah, everything! I learned a ton, and seriously, it’s changed how I will be printing now.

Everybody in the class was given a 24″ x 32″ block of plywood, with which we had 5 days to do a multi-color reduction woodcut. Edition of at least 5. Amazingly, with almost nonstop work (we all spent most days/nights cutting and printing like crazy till midnight, at which time we had to leave as the studios were locked up), we actually each did it! All of the students were super hard-working and fun. It was great sharing a space with these madly cutting−woodchips flying−artists. Above, is the final print: 5 color, edition of 15 (printed 18, but 3 aren’t great) of one of my turkeys (click it to enlarge).

More pics from the class, including the different stages of a reduction wood block coming up.