Pink Elephants on Parade

This is amazing!  Everyone go watch this right now!

http://ubersuper.com/pink-elephants-on-parade/

The Myth of Orpheus

      Orpheus was the son of Calliope and either Oeagrus or Apollo. He was the greatest musician and poet of Greek myth, whose songs could charm wild beasts and coax even rocks and trees into movement. He was one of the Argonauts, and when the Argo had to pass the island of the Sirens, it was Orpheus' music which prevented the crew from being lured to destruction.

      When Orpheus' wife, Eurydice, was killed by the bite of a serpent, he went down to the underworld to bring her back. His songs were so beautiful that Hades finally agreed to allow Eurydice to return to the world of the living. However, Orpheus had to meet one condition: he must not look back as he was conducting her to the surface. Just before the pair reached the upper world, Orpheus looked back, and Eurydice slipped back into the netherworld once again.

      Orpheus was inconsolable at this second loss of his wife. He spurned the company of women and kept apart from ordinary human activities. A group of Ciconian Maenads, female devotees of Dionysus, came upon him one day as he sat singing beneath a tree. They attacked him, throwing rocks, branches, and anything else that came to hand. However, Orpheus' music was so beautiful that it charmed even inanimate objects, and the missiles refused to strike him. Finally, the Maenads' attacked him with their own hands, and tore him to pieces. Orpheus' head floated down the river, still singing, and came to rest on the isle of Lesbos.

     Not exactly a child's story, but I do have memories of my mother telling me this when I was much younger.  I love it.  Everything about the myth excites me. I draw great inspiration from Orpheus because of his great tenacity and the lengths he is willing to go through to reclaim a love. 

    In my own life I've gone through a great reclaiming with my art. For a while I was in a strange jaded mindset. I'm not sure exactly what made me so against art, However, I'd like to exclaim to everyone reading this, how happy I am that I've found my way back to art.

Silkscreen Hero

         IN GREAT NEWS, my comedy of errors during my screen coating process didn’t impede my final product. Under the watchful eye of a close friend and a veteran screen printer curious to see what had happened, I washed out my screen after my first exposure. And suddenly...HELL YES! My screen had the images intact. My exposure process had worked, and worked well.

          I will post the images of my screen on Monday, along with images of my prints, but for right now. I will simply celebrate that I now understand the process :) Sweet Success.

Mylar!?!?!

Let me start this off with how worried I was when I realized that I had decided to sign up for Advanced Printmaking… (Insert terrified girl screech). It had sounded like a great idea, and I had really enjoyed my Lithography class last winter. However, I still was nervous. On the first day, I realized quickly that I’m one of the youngest in my class. Looking around the room, it was very intimidating collection of printers. We read the syllabus, and I was soft spoken when I was my turn to speak. And to make matters worse, for some reason I was called on twice to read…and I could feel my voice shaking as I listed the required materials. The word Mylar felt foreign to me as I skimmed the list, even though I know very well what it is!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mylar: Used for registration for multi-layer prints and for centering images, great for a more professional print look. 

I would greatly advise all printers to have AT LEAST one go-to sheet of drafting Mylar. It can  be purchased at most art supply stores, and comes in  a few different varieties. Personally, I used the single sided frosted. As the name suggests, one side is frosted and the other is smooth. My reason is very simple as to why I choose this type. The frosted side holds my pencil marks better than the smooth side. A double smooth would smear the pencil marks that are measured out to center your image, and a double frosted would make it hard to see your registration when you flip over your Mylar to print. 

So what is Registration? I've been throwing around a word that might not be familiar to non-printers. Registration is the method of correlating overlapping colors on one single image. There are many different styles and types of registration, many of which employ the alignment of specific marks.

"First Color Run"

When printing an image that has more than one color, depending on the method of printing, it is necessary to print the image one separate time for each separate color. Each one is called a "color run," and they can be pulled from the same surface, inked differently, or from a completely different surface. So that the final image is consistent, and so each of the colors lines up correctly, a system of registration is necessary. Different printing devices have different methods of creating separate color runs.

 "Second Color Run"

And from there it's simple! Just keep layering your colors until you're finished, and there you have it. A beautifully registered, multi-layer print is easier than you thought. That is...if you have Mylar. Oh! The joys of Mylar :)

So What Do You Do?

     I'm one of the motivated members of my family. I've valued my school work and opportunities. However, recently I was asked by a family member, "So what do you do?" I'm not a person to just go into some grand, self-promoting rant about how I'm going to be a professional artist, as I adjust my monocle and take another sip of my dry martini. Nevertheless, I do have a standard response.

     My interrogation usually happens at family gatherings that I choose to attend. So, I guess it a way, I subject myself to it. The QUESTIONING. It usually starts like this (if I'm speaking to a certain Aunt of mine):

    "So Megan, since we last spoke it has been x-amount of time...WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WITH YOUR LIFE?"
    "I go to college, and I work."
    "Oh...that's nice. So what do you do?"
    "I work..."
    "I mean after college, with your degree in...what was it? Crafting?"
    "No...it's Art...just like it has been."
    "Oh, my mistake."
 
     At this point I'm done, but this point is key. I'll entertain them with my uncertainty for as long as I can stand to see them struggle to make sense of my life choice, it's my own personal joke time.

    "So what do you do?"
    "I'm happy, and creating things that really matter to me and could potentially matter to other people too. I'm leaving my own footprint that doesn't damage others or the earth. I'm discovering my own path, instead of letting you or the other members of my family push me into some sort of trade...And what do you do again? Work at Famous Footwear?"

    I know it's pretty forward, but why question my choice? I've never questioned theirs. I guess because I've chosen the unconventional route it causes problems, but I'm really happy with what my exploration had brought to me.

    Below I've gathered a few of my more recent works. I've be dabbling into the photographic field for a while now. Most of my photography work would be labeled portraiture. One of my main obsessions in life is the human body. People are such magnificent subjects. You can never see the same thing twice. Muscles undulate underneath skin, shadows cast different patterns on flesh, and so many other little changes that make people amazing.

 "Kyle" - Digital Photograph

 

"Kyle II" - Digital Photograph

 "Beth" - Digital Photograph

 "Beth II" - Digital Photograph

 "Claudia" - Lithograph

Hard Ground Demo

    Above are two of my current prints. I've been working on a series of Intaglio prints involving the male figure in various states of undress. I truly do love the male form.

      In my Intro to Intaglio class we've been working with hard grounds, the foundation of intaglio printing. This type of printing is done on metal plates usually and involves various etching techniques. The use of a hard ground is a very basic, but useful way of making a print. If there's one kind of print I do the most it would be intaglio.

in·ta·glio
n. pl. inta·glios 1. Printing done with a plate bearing an image in intaglio.

    When doing intaglio you start off with a metal plate, usually copper or zinc.

    A hard ground is a surface on a print plate that is generated by using asphaltum, which is a natural tar like substance. It works as a repellant for the acid that will be used to etch an intaglio plate. Before doing anything you'll need to measure and cut your plates using some sort of cutter. My studio has a large, rather out dated piece of machinery, but with lots of time and patience it gets the work done. You'll then have to degrease your plate, because of course you've touched it and the zinc is now covered in your fingerprints. this can be done quickly in a sink with some sort of mild cleaning agent. Once that is done you're ready to apply your hard ground.

 
     There are a few different ways to apply the substance. It comes in two primary forms, liquid and the chunky form shown above. The liquid form can be painted on with even brush strokes. The rock-like form must be heated before use and applied with a roller.

    Once you have your plates evenly coated then you leave them to dry. Once they are dry then you can go ahead and draw into the surface with etching tools. These can really be any sharp object that is used to remove fine lines of hard ground so the acid can reach the plate.

And that my friends is how you apply a hard ground. 

A Few Inspiring Images

When asked about inspiration, the title of my blog really explains it. I’m in love with music; infatuated with tones and the different timbres of sound. My creative process is fueled by music. I listen to music while creating art and my works are often related to music. My love of art blooms from the same central stem that my love of music grows from. It’s all about exploring. Everything is an exploration when it relates to my process. I want to learn through my own hands.  

There are many questions I’m asked about the creative process, but they all just boil down to one thing: Where do you find your spark?

It’s very simple really. Usually, I just stroll around tumblr looking for something inspiring. I just put in my headphones, and cruise the net until I stumble across something. There is no real science or method to my madness; just perseverance. I’ll search of hours until something finally hits me. I’ve been collecting a glut of images that have really struck a chord with me, and I figured I would post a few of them that will give an idea as to what catches my eye. 

 "Doll" - Griffblut

"Samantha Lying" - Ian Reynold

"MF008" - Eric Lacombe

I have also recently discovered Ivan Alifan's website: http://www.ivanalifan.com/

I really enjoy his work due to the use of color and heavy paint application. The tactile quality of his pieces really draw in my sense of touch. I almost attempt to touch with my eyes as I study each piece. He does a great job of rendering human forms, and I highly recommend his work. 

Digital Composing

I was recently in a Digital Image Composition course at my university. I really enjoyed the freedom to create my own project, but would have liked a little more guidance as to what my prof was really looking for. The class was open to all different skill levels and we were charged with the task of creating our own plans of study. They ranged from creating an animation using Adobe Flash, to simply using the scanner to digitize images. I’m not sure how he plans to grade something of this nature. Can you fault someone for something you gave them the freedom to do? He also made an offhand remark about how tangible printmaking methods (silk screen, litho, and intaglio) are too archaic to be considered art…but I’ll leave that alone for now.

In my program of study, I utilized Adobe Illustrator to vectorize different map images using the livetrace setting to remove information from the maps by reducing the threshold the eliminate lines from the image. Then from those altered map images, I created scribble-like images. The scribble shapes are an attempt to pull some of the lines out of the maps to look like epicenters. Like the beginning of a memory that drifts off into space with no final resolution.

 I have no memories of these experiences and not many childhood memories at all. Everything is fragmented and only ghost images of what was once there. I often wonder if something happened to me to make me block out all these memories. I plan to explore that someday.