Breaking it Apart and Putting it Back Together

Printmaking is about making an original work of art that exists as an edition of identical prints.  If you're going to make an edition of identical prints it's important that you know how to break an image apart so that you can print all of it's elements consistently and accurately.  Most of the processes you will be learning in this class can be though of as varying ways to break an image apart and put it back together again.

For this assignment, instead of making an original work of art, you will be recreating a work of art that you are influenced by in the form of an edition.  In this video, Recreation of a Tass Print with Alexis Petroff, you will see that the original work of art has been meticulously mapped according to color, turned into a set of stencils, and then remade as a print.  That's exactly what you're going to be doing.

For this assignment you will need:
- Blue painter's tape.
- Colored markers or water soluble paint and a couple stencil brushes.
- A craft knife and spare blades.
- A ruler.
- Pencil and erasers.

Assignment Outline:
Breaking the image apart:
- Find an image.  Print that image in color and as large as possible on an 8.5"x11" piece of paper.
- On the light table, lay another piece of paper over your image. Choose a color and trace every place where you see that color with the corresponding marker.  Repeat for each color in the image.  This is your key.
- Next, lay a piece of wax paper over your key.  Choose a color and trace every place where you see that color.  Then take another piece of wax paper and repeat for another color.  Repeat until you have one sheet of wax paper for each color.  Be careful to label the front and color of each of your tracings.  It won't be obvious later.
- Using your craft knife, cut out all of the colored shapes you traced from each sheet of paper.

Editioning the image:
- Tear a good sheet of printmaking paper into as many equal pieces as you can.  Each piece should be the same size as your image plus 2" on the top and sides and 2.5" on the bottom.  These are your margins.
- Using your blue painter's tape, attach the stencil for your lightest color 2" from the top and 2" from one side of your paper.
- Using your markers or paint, color through every opening in your stencil onto your printmaking paper.
- Repeat with the same stencil on each of your torn sheets.
- Repeat for every color.

You should end up with an edition of four or more consistent prints that look like the key that you made in the beginning.

You have one week to complete this assignment.  

On critique day, you will have ten minutes to get ready before we begin. 

- Make sure you have identified your prints in pencil.  Make your best print number one and the print you are least satisfied with number five. 

- Hang number one from your suite of prints at about sixty inches on center above the floor. Use a loop of tape on the back; do not put tape on the front of your print.  

- You'll each draw a number, make a written critique of the corresponding print, and present that print to the class.  

- After critique place your prints and artist's statement on the table outside my studio.  

This assignment will be scored based on three criteria.  These criteria will be weighted and assessed as follows:

1. Concept: 0 Points. 

Interpretation and application of your own ideas to the assignment using expressive, emotive, and aesthetic elements.  Ask yourself “What am I trying to say with this image?” “How can I visually convey my idea?”

2. Participation: 10 Points. 

Attendance, involvement with your group, putting in time in the shop, proper shop etiquette, participation in discussions and critiques. 

3. Process: 10 Points. 

Display an understanding of the process, making an edition of consistent prints, registration, and general neatness of the work. 

The complete assignment is an edition of prints and an artist's statement.  Incomplete assignments will continue to loose points for lateness until everything is turned in.

Additionally, the following will cost you a letter grade:

- Fingerprints or smudges on your prints. 

- Failure to properly identify your prints. 

- Failure to turn in an artist's statement with your prints.

- Prints hung after critique begins will be considered one day late.