#PrintInktober: Days 17-22
October 23, 2018
Check out what I did for days 17-22 of #PrintInktober:
These are all videos embedded from instagram. If you click on them you can see still photos too. If you are reading this on e-mail, you probably have to click through to read this post on my blog if you want to see the videos.
I'm doing my best to explore all kinds of stamps during this project -- rubber stamps, foam stamps, hand carved stamps, and even wood block stamps!
What I Like: I love the finished print. That's paper I want to use over and over. And I love the seamless repeating block -- layered two-part block -- that I made from foam.
What I Can Improve: I'm not sure if it's a "finished print." It looks more like a pretty piece of paper to me. So, what's the difference? What would make it a finished print?
What I Like: I love it when I start with a question and go after the answer. It's part of what makes art fun for me -- exploring, experimenting, problem solving. And I think the finished print is great.
What I Can Improve: Still don't always get a clean impression. I need to work on my attention to detail and consistency with inking and pressure.
What I Like: I didn't get the results I wanted on the first pass, but I kept going! Persistence is one of the major keys to my success. I am a great believer in the adage: It's not done until you're satisfied. So, if you're not satisfied, it's not done. Keep going. And at first I was disappointed in the bleary outline of the brayered color, but on consideration, I really like how it looks.
What I Can Improve: Got a little bit wedded to how the two horses were arranged on the acrylic block. I think the print might be more dynamic if I took the time to rearrange them as I was printing....
What I Like: Loooooove how this one turned out. Surprised even myself with how cool all those stamps looked in a mandala format. Most of all, I like that I added those "x" shapes at the end. It helps to connect the disparate pieces together. Also, yay for me for bringing out the wooden stamps. I've hoarded them for way too long, kind of afraid to use them. Why?!
What I Can Improve: I never seem to take the time to find the center of my paper. I think because this is a kind of mandala formation, it would be great if the center were actually at the center of the paper!
What I Like: Simple and beautiful. After the previous day's very thought out composition, it was fun to just use a single stamp to create a beautiful overall print.
What I Can Improve: My first impression was too faint. I needed to use more ink. I really ought to do a practice print before launching into the real thing!
What I Like: I have never used this alphabet block because it was just "not right" to my eye. I'm so glad that I dragged it out of the drawer to see if I could find a way to use it that worked. Also: this is some of the simplest stamping and masking, but it looks great. Sometimes I think things have to be super complicated when simple is perfectly awesome!
What I Can Improve: I wish I had printed all three flowers straight. Sigh. I think I should take more time to line things up in the future -- or perhaps make some marks on the back of the block to help me print correctly.
Overall, I feel like my prints are becoming more interesting. I wanted #printinktober to be different from #carvedecember -- a different emphasis. I think I'm doing it! What do you think?
Thanks for stopping by!