Memory Lane

First relief print, 2002

I have been working on getting my Etsy shop open again after years of sitting idle (www.nappingcatpress.etsy.com) and I found an old box full of artefacts from my first years of printmaking. What a fun and frustrating time -- fun, because every day was. Like exploring Mars. Frustrating because, being self taught, I had no idea what I was doing right, or wrong; troubleshooting an issue and wondering if the solution was just a simple fix, but instead working dozens of ideas that jus led to more problems. Ironically, it was this tenacity and outlier thinking that has made me exceptional at my day job.

But if I could start over, I'd do it the exact same way, just with more tenacity. I have a pretty thick portfolio from 20 years of printmaking, but it really should be 10X as thick.

The print shown is the very first relief print I ever did. After dreaming about block printing, I got books from the library. One suggested carving and printing with potatoes. This was the result, and I was hooked.
 

Dusting Off the Shelves

 Well, it's been a while since I've had my Etsy shop open, and it seems like a smart time to get it back up. I've got a lot of work in my files that I'd like to put on people's walls, to make room for an expected flood of creativity heading into fall.

Heading. Into. Fall

Jeesh. Well, anyway, I am very busy cataloguing and sorting prints, and trying to add as many as I can to the shop every day. I invite you to click on the photo of my press (above, on your desktop; if you're on mobile, you need to click the little link at the bottom of of the page that says "desktop mode," or just go to wwwmnappingcapress.etsy.com

****HOWEVER!!! WAIT UNTIL Sunday August 6 to buy****

On Sunday, August 6, 2023, I will release a special code you can use at checkout to receive a HUGE DISCOUNT. Along with free shipping, this sale will run until the end of August.

The discount code will be released here at the blog, as well as on the Napping Cat Press Facebook page (so go like that page, and this blog, to get notified of the discount shenanigans.

Horn Tootin'

 It became official last Wednesday, with the reveal of the Erie County Fair Commemorative Poster, the first one ever selected from entries in a contest held last winter. I am so honored to be part of the history of the Fair, I could burst.

Photo Parade

The original concept.

 

After finalizing the drawing, I make a tracing on tracing paper to lay over the block. This helps me to keep things aligned color to color, a process called "register" or "registration."

Using carbon paper, I trace over the tracing paper and transfer the image onto the block.

After carving out the lines, I mix the ink. I am, by trade, an ink technician for a printing company, so this is my favorite part.

After rolling the ink onto the block, I place paper over the block...

....int it goes into this cast iron press. I know of only one other printmaker who uses a cast iron press to make reduction woodcuts.

And the result!

Many layers of ink later, a poster is born!

2 of 12

The poster represents much of what I find special about the Fair. We love to see the animals, and that is our #1 priority when we visit. Horse shows, the fish in the conservation building, cows, sheep, pigs. Our favorite is the rabbit & poultry barn. Modeled on a photo I took a few years ago, this fella keeps an eye on me, while in a cage behind him, a bunny peeks out to see what's up, doc?

 

1 of 12

 The Erie County Fair slogan is "The Best 12 Days of Summer. Opening day has changed over the years, but the anticipation is still great. When I was a kid, it was preceded by the arrival of the James E. Strates shows train, and by a grand parade full of floats built by every community in the County. For myriad reasons, the opening has become more compact, with a grand opening at the main gate, and a canned food drive. When people say "This ain't the fair I remember!" My answer is "That's because it's alive. The only things that don't change are in museums." The fair that adults remember today were pale imposters to our great grandparents. Kids going to the Fair in 2023 will relish the memories, and scoff at the 227th. That's how history works.

To honor Opening Day, I have the Main Gate wrought Iron sign, with balloons st aloft. This was the square I fretted over from the moment I drew it. The lettering and thin lines were a fright to carve. But it all printed beautifully.

Making History

In February of this year, the Erie County Fair put out a call for artists to submit designs for the 183rd Erie County Fair. I'd missed the email, and a friend who is also an artist and Fair fan told me about it and suggested that I enter. I'm not a poster maker, but I had an idea, and thought I might enter, just for fun.

The call was to submit a sketch of the proposal, photos of past work, an an artist's statement. At the eleventh hour, I found my original idea unworkable, and a little dull. A day before deadline, I basically gave up. I went for a walk to clear my head and to berate myself for not being much of an idea guy.

In the middle of that walk, I had a vision: tell the story of how I view "The Best 12 Days of Summer." Graphically, colorfully, in a very woodcut way.

I drew and inked my cartoon and got my application in just before deadline. I loved my concept, but I knew it didn't have the slick look and clean lines of modern computer-aided posters, and so I just prided myself on getting into the mix.

A few days later, while I was expecting a "thank you for entering, however...," I was pretty surprised to be informed that I was in the top 3. WOW!

The next step was to interview with the Commemorative Poster Committee. A wonderful group asked me questions about my own history as a Fairgoer, and were genuinely interested in my medium. They graciously let me ramble on for half an hour. As I walked home, I was full of pride for achieving that, and expecting to win the third place slot. 

A couple days later, walking downtown to my bus on a sunny afternoon, I received the call. 

They loved the design. They loved my passion for the fair. They were intrigued by the process.

I would be creating the poster for the 2023 Erie County Fair.

 

Summer Uncovered

We're almost there kids. I'm so pleased by how it's turned out. While it's not my most complex print, the cutting was insane. I'd been worried about keeping thin lines, and was actually going to print dark-to-light. This print was too special to rely on the easy way. I dug deep (and used up DOZENS of X-acto blades). If you look at Square 3 & 8, you can see the tiny characters. The register held beautifully, as you can see on Square 12, with my monogram and the building with the lighted windows.

Developing Story

 The fourth color, ochre, will serve as the darker tone for the background of the chicken and the horse. This is actually the color combo that spurred my imagination to design the tone-on-tone look of the squares.

The next color is sky blue. This blue will be featured in three squares, and all three will require a great deal of precision cutting. With reduction printing, the previous color always affects the following color, and I do what I can to minimize the effect. In this case, covering the ocre with blue is very tricky. Ochre is, essentially, a green. As such, the yellow in ochre wants to cancel the blue, and the green wants to cancel the red values in the blue, rendering it gray. The best way to minimize the effect is to add purple to the blue. However, there is only so much one can do, because the ink layers need to be thin, and the color needs to be light. I think I got good balance, and I am quite happy with the result.

Whew!

I headed down to the studio, armed with my Plan B and expecting failure. However, as you can see, all is well!

....so far.

But I've learned -- again! --that patience is the most important tool with reduction woodcut. 

Unfortunately, the clock is ticking on this print, or I'd give each color 5 days of drying. I'm hoping 48 hours is enough. We're well into the rainy season right now, so the humidity is a huge issue.

Hoping to print ochre Thursday. After that, we get into the blues!

 

MAYDAY....MAYDAY

Oh, what a weekend. Printed color #2, and things looked gorgeous. I'd hoped to print #3 Saturday night, but the prints were still tacky, so I got up early Sunday. I mixed my ink and prepped the block and....

Disaster. The register was all over the place. It looked like the print had skated over the block on the layer of ink. It was a very sickening feeling. I stopped with about 15 prints left. I hope to try again tonight. If the prints feel tacky I'll wait another day. I had one print that came out sharp, so it's not the block.

It's humid, and I've been trying to rush. I should know better.🤷‍♂️

If I can't save it, I need to start over, but I need to rethink the block.
 

Crossing The Lines

so, now it's on, and it is down to the fine detail nitty gritty. The image is a steel sculpture, so I need to carve out these lines. This is the most intricate carving I've ever done. It went well, though I had one line break. Honestly expected worse. Let's see how it prints!
 

Project F

 

I had to redact parts of this image. What's the big secret? Oh, you'll see. But all that aside, I want to share a few things about the making of this print. First, I am using a brand new paper: Arches 100% cotton, light. I've been using a mould-made sulfite paper, which has always been good...but this prints so nice,vand the sheets are crisp. They have a tiny bit of texture, and I'm hoping I'm not cursing this paper as I move through the layers!

I also think I may have discovered something interesting. Usually, I tamp down with the screw press, hard, and release immediately. Well, during printing this color, I had just tamped down the block when I had to attend to a phone message or something. When I returned a minute later, I took the print off the block, and the print looked better -- I don't know how to describe it, even? Crisp? Whatever, we'll see how that affects the next layers.

The lines are perfect, crisp and open, and I'm feeling good about the next color 

One issue -- I am using thick cardboard for the guides, and one guide split laminations. I had to double brint a sheet to make sure the registration didn't move. Looks good, but I was sweating bullets.

Go Time

 

The cartoon was completed last night, and I've transversed the cut lines to the block. Each mark seen here will be white space. Each line needs to be thin, but consistent, but also not too thin or shallow, to keep from filling in when rolled with ink. Being a reduction woodcut, these lines need to hold up, crisply, through 9 layers of ink. The ink layers must be thick enough to fully support the next layer. It's a delicate balancing act.

Once the cartoon was finished, I made a transparency to work from. I've never used tracing paper to aid in the transfer process, and I'm hoping it's beneficial, because so far it's been great to work with.

There are 8 colors, plus black. These aren't actual colors, just place holders to help me map things out.

Making History

 

I am beginning a big project. I can't say much about it yet (I haven't been sworn to secrecy, but I'd like to make the reveal when the work is done.

This will be a 9-color reduction print with some very intricate cutting work. The work is due June 1, but I hope to be done much sooner. A couple of things I CAN say: it's the most important print I've done and the commissioning organization was most intrigued the reduction woodcut process.

Therefore, I'm hoping to do reduction woodcut printmakers proud. This commission is expected to get some media exposure. I hope to use the opportunity to advocate for arts education.