International Print Day-May 1, 2010

Whew! I almost forgot about this event. Now, it's evening here in the East Coast. But after fencing practice, scoping out a location for an upcoming chalk walk/plein air event and doing some studio prep work, I remembered that it was International Print Day today and I'd made a commitment to participate. It was an exhausting day but I'm glad I made time to print something!

[My Time frame: 7 pm -11 pm, May 1, 2010., Princess Simpson Rashid]

Yes, here I am getting messy in my printmaking studio. I have to admit, this was very fun..until my toddler (19 month old) starting running around trying to get "inky" with me. In the photo, I'm in the process of wiping the plate to prepare it for printing.

Here's a shot of my etching press. His name is Mortimer. I love him. Anyway, a piece of damp blue pastel paper was placed on top of the inked plate. Now the printing can begin...

Voila! Here's the first pulled impression. I kind of like it...but the blue looks a little faded here in the photo. Next, I will print on traditional Arches BFK white printmaking paper.

But first, I enlist some help from my little apprentice, my nine year old. Isn't she precious!

Ok, the pressure was applied and the paper was slowly pulled up so you can see how the ink took to the paper. Looks good.... but I think, I need to be careful when wiping the left side though. Or maybe I should apply a little drypoint technique to that area so that the ink will stay in the incised line better like it's doing on the right side of the plate. We'll see....

I like the white paper better. I will probably pull the edition in white. What do you think?

To learn more about this event visit the "Print Day In May" blog.