Interview with Abigail Anderson

It is not often that I come across a new technique and a fresh point of view in printmaking. If anywhere, the SGC and MAPC conferences are great events to attend if have been lacking inspiration lately. Abigail Anderson's artwork caught my eye at the last MAPC Conference and I just had to share it with you. It's been an interview long promised, so I hope you will be as inspired as I was when I met her.

Abigail Woods Anderson is a Minneapolis- based artist and educator. She received her BA from St Olaf College in 1999 and currently works with the Walker Art Center's department of education and community programs. Abigail is also an instructor and member of the artist cooperative at Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) and made her curatorial debut there at the Lerner Binder Gallery this spring (a multidisciplinary exhibition What Follows What Came Before).

I was drawn to her work because of the detail that she was able to get with photopolymerplates and her hand drawn negatives. Here is what Abigail had to say about her technique: "What's striking about letterpress is that it is at once anachronistic and in vogue. Artists working in letterpress have a vast array of technologies (two millenia) at their disposal. What sets my technique apart from most contemporary letterpress practitioners is my preference for handmade, rather than digitally derived, negatievs to generate photopolymer plates. I thrive off the direct mark-making and problem solving ingenuity of DIY processes and analog materials. Occasinally, specific projects necessitate the facsimile quality that a computer affords, but usually my process is more akin to drawing and painting."

Degrees, detail

Abigail was great in sharing how she makes her negatives. Her basic technique is to paint a solid surface of India Ink with a foam brish on acetate and let it dry. Then you can use the scratching tool of your choice (x-acto knife, etching needle, sandpaper, wire brush, etc.) After you make the drawing you can expose your plate the way you normally would. I'd suggest making a couple of trial plates to get the exposure right.

Now, here is an image of one of Abigails negatives. You can see how much detail and fine lines she has. That is what was so mind blowing to me. I asked her what the trick is to keep the fine lines from washing away after exposure. Her reply was to keep the highly detailed areas close together, and then have the rest of the area open. If there was one little mark in the middle of a large open area, then it would wash away, but having the lines so close together keeps them "safe".

I asked Abigail to share some more of herself and her work with us:

How/when did you start letterpress?

I confess- I had no idea what letterpress meant when I signed up for a workshop at the MCBA in 2008. My first instructor was Allison Chapman and my first projects were entirely engrossing and overly ambitious. So I was compelled to continue coursework at MCBA by taking classes in advanced letterpress and polymer plate making. I knew I had the letterpress obsession once I noticed myself laying awake at night concocting letterpress projects. So, to satiate this creative impulse, I joined MCBA's Artist Cooperative which consists of artists making independently driven work in the book arts disciplines- papermaking, printmaking and book binding. In exchange for monthly dues, we get a host of benefits, not least which is access to MCBA's studio space and equipment.

Re-Embroidered II, letterpress, 7"x7", print above, detail below

For someone who has not seen your work, how would you explain it?

I think my artwork has a certain "telescoping inward" quality. While subjects vary, my prints and paintings consistently are small scale and highly detailed. The notion of making visual riddles- compositions held together by some kind of tension or enigma- has held my attention recently.

Strange Loop is a good example. I developed a resource about this painting that is a hybrid of an artist statement and statement of influence. Artist voice/Artist Choice was a project proposed and supported by my colleagues at the Walker, mnartists.org and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. It invites artists to discuss their own work in relation to resources held by the Walker and/or Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Shelf Fungus, letterpress & chine colle, 4"x2.5"

Do you work in any other media than polymerplates?

While I only discovered letterpress about three years ago, I discovered love for printmaking about 12 years ago in a college intaglio class. But graduating college meant saying farewell to a sophisticated studio. I scaled back to art forms that could be accomplished in a small apartment. For several years I worked in pencil, pen and ink, watercolor, and gouache. Now that I am invested in printmaking, those direct media still interest me but are on the back burner. Within the medium of letterpress, I use primarily polymer plate, but occasionally employ metal type.

Where do you get your inspiration from for themes and colors? Do you always work with nature themes?

I often work with nature themes, but over the years my approach has edged a bit more towards abstraction. Recently I completed two works relating to mathematical principles. {2, 3, 5, 7, ... 2203, 2207} and {2, 3, 5, 7, ... 1789, 1801} are meditations on the prime number sequence. These prints reference the work of mathematicians Stanislaw Ulam and Charles Sacks.

Nulla Dies Sine Linea, letterpress, detail above and print below

Any great plans for the future?

To be fair, this is less of a plan and more of an ambition, but I'd like to edition an artist book about water bears. Also (totally unrelated) this summer I've got what I'm calling my "Gutenberg gig". On Spetember 24-25 I will be demonstrating the use of a Gutenberg replica press at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.

Other exciting things? This summer I have an experimental outdoors project called Open Phenology (science of how and when living things change over the seasons). I engage the public every friday in a meandering walk and conversation during which we identify species, hypothesize about our observations and share knowledge. Then I use a blog to keep records of our phenological observations (with a good dose of musings and non-authoritative content). Open Phenology is my contribution to the Walker Art Center's Open Field and Field Office. It's part of my bigger fascination with citizen science and the perils and powers of inviting non-scientists to be collaborators in scientific pursuits.

I fell in love with your prints, do you have any for sale?

My art is available at the Groveland Gallery in Minneapolis.

Minuend, letterpress, 8.5"x5", detail above and print below

Thanks so much for sharing Abigail!

Modifying Photopolymerplates with Acrylic Media

The moving day is inching closer by the hour. Moving trucks are rolling in first thing on Monday, and I have been organizing our house and the studio for weeks now. I have a couple of last minute things to complete before we head out. A couple of people are coming over tomorrow for a last minute photopolymer class and there are 6 huge panels that need to be finished up for a church commission. I have been taking some progress photos, and will post those after this moving madness is over.

Until then, I am pleased to feature a great article by Australian print-maker Annie Day. She has been a practicing artist since 1974, and is a passionate advocate of safer, healthier and more environmentally friendly printmaking techniques. A short plug- Annie and her sister Robin Ezra are teaching an exciting class in Florence, Italy, this summer. The 60 hour class covers the following safer printmaking techniques: waterless lithography, drypoint, monotype and collography. The class will be held at the world famous printmaking studio, Il Bisonte, where artists such as Picasso, Annigoni and Moore have worked. The workshop is suitable for any level of experience- you can find more information about it at their website here. I would love to go and take this class, the setting is ideal. (Maybe next year, since I'll be living a lot closer!)


Modifying Photopolymerplates with Acrylic Media by Annie Day

Less than perfect polymerplates can be readily rectified by modifying the plate surface using acrylic media. A small section of the plate can be transformed, as in the example "Chamellia"; of for a more complete overhaul, the original plate may be covered in gesso and reworked.

Camellia before and after

The original plate was overexposed resulting in a loss of contrast between foreground and background (see before). This was easily recovered however, by adding pastel primer to the plate in the areas where more ink was required, resulting in a darker final print with better contrast (see after).

Method

-Wash the plate first, this will help the acrylic media to form a good bond with the surface. Clean the ink off the plate with vegetable oil, then using soft brush or cleaning mitt and a little detergent with water gently work the surface until all ink and greasiness is removed, rinse and dry with towel. Surface is now ready to apply acrylic media.

-Use various acrylic media: gesso, pastel primer, acrylic varnish, PVC glue, and gel medium for example. Art suppliers carry a huge range of these mediums and you may already have a few types.

-Carborundum or ground pumice mixed with or sprinkled onto gesso or PVC glue will give a finish with "tooth" for darker areas similar to the pastel primer used above in Chamellia.

- The medium can be painted, applied with palette knife or other implement and drawn into to create lines and textures.

- The surface can be built up by gluing a variety of low relief textural materials- such as paper or fabric using PVC glue, seal the surface with watered gesso or varnish.

-Once the desired finish is achieved, dry the plate thoroughly with a hairdryer or airdry over night at room temperature. To speed up the process use an oven at very low temperature, 50-60 Celsius, no higher or the plate may dry out too much and crack. The plate must be completely dry before inking to avoid paper sticking during printing.

- Apply ink with a short stiff brush, wipe with a small flat piece of tarlatan and finish with paper wipe. Buy cheap flat bristle brushes and cut bristles with scissors.

Plate being modified with pastel primer and gesso

Clear pastel primer was added for darker areas, and gesso thinned with water painted over the leaves.

Cicada

The sky in the print to the right was lightened using gloss varnish on the plate.
This print after was created after a visit to the Northern Territory, Australia, it tells the story of the great Rainbow serpent, Boulong, who lived in a deep waterhole, at Nitmiluk- named after the song of the cicadas.

Wash the plate with a soft brush or cleaning mitt in water to clean thoroughly. Gloss varnish, thinned with water, applied to sky areas to lighten. Keep the print nearby while you work and refer to areas that need change.

Fossil Fish

Before and after

Plate showing tissue glued to the surface with some thinned gesso and gloss varnish added over the paper. The fossil fish, Clibming Galaxis- live today in small pockets around the world. The fish has been in existence for millions of years. They are found in tiny streams leading to Manly Dam near my home.

The fish plate was too dark. I covered the background in PVC glue and attached tissue paper. A thin coat of gesso and thinned gloss medium were applied to the plate. In retrospect, the paper layer might have been more succesful if I had used crushed or textured paper and added gesso applied with palette knife for more interesting textural effects.

Notes:
- Art Spectrum Colourfix pastel primer was originally designed for coating surfaces in preparation for pastel drawing, but is a great medium for our puroses as it holds ink where the artist needs darker areas to print.

-Try experimenting with various acrylic media and pasting paper and textiles etc. The plate becomes a collagraph when you add media to the surface.

- Sometimes it is difficult to find where you need to apply the medium. Outline areas you are modifying in ballpoint pen. It makes it easier to see and will not show up in the final print.

News and events

HI and good day! I am so happy that spring is knocking on our door. It gives me lots of energy to work and get things dine, which comes in a good crack, since I am trying to meet all kinds of deadlines before a month long trip out of town again...

I am curating a show from the La Familia Gallery for a space in Finland. It is tedious as normal to put all the information together from 18 artists. I just finished ordering the card for our show. So I am patting my back and relieving myself to get some lunch before I dive back into all the paperwork.

Our show dates will be April 20th-May 22nd, 2010. The reception is open for all on April 20th 5pm-7pm. The gallery is Gallery Golden Point, at Asematie 1A (through the inner court), Nummela, Finland. You can email the owner at raili.saloviin@goldenpoint.fi. Regular hours of business are Wed-Fri 11am-6pm, Sat 10am-1pm, or with appointment.

I wanted to add a couple of pics of recent things I have been working on. I had made a series of linocuts last year, they were larger, so I wanted to be able to print them all on one page, so I scanned them all in, and made a polymerplate out of it. I printed relief on my little etching press, on natural colored stonehenge paper. There was a heavy embossment, so here's a picture of that.

The whole print...

These two are a recent commission of two children. I rather like the way they turned out, and the customer was very happy. What more could I want!

Photopolymer / Solarplate Links

I had a great time doing a demo on polymerplate printing last tuesday. Here are some of the resources that were on the handout for the class:

Where I buy my plates: www.photopolymerplates.com/ Kim Becker - owner, very nice. You can tell her Mirka sent you. She is very helpful over the phone and has very affordable rates. Only minus is that there is a minimum 8 plates per order. 8.25 x 11.5” plates come out to be about $9-10 with shipping.

I also buy relief plates for my letterpress from www.boxcarpress.com, they also have a service where they will make a plate for you. All you have to do is send your digital image in.

How -to solar - or photopolymer plates:

Dan Weldens website

Australian site with nice pictures and info

information on how to prepare your digital files

instructions from Jewelery or relief point of view

About bookmaking

Supplies (prices 2/2010):

Dan Welden's Site 8x10 - $18

McClains 8x10 - $16.95

Takach Press 8x10 - $15

Dick Blick 8x10 - $11.95

Takach Press 8x11.5 - $10/$16

plate making service

NA Graphics plate making service

Recycling your plates:

Keep polymer out of landfills and out environment, after you are done with the plate, send them to Boxcar Press.

Books:

Printmaking in the Sun - Dan Welden over $100 on Amazon (out of print)

Printmaking with Photopolymerplates- Dianne Longley $45 with shipping

News and Upcoming Exciting Events

There have been so many exciting events going on in my life that I have hardly had the time to sit by the computer. I have some great video from a Karen Kunc and Zha Zai demo from Seattle to post in the near future. Also just went up- a intimate exhibition by Chandler O'Leary at the Pacific Lutheran University Gallery in Tacoma.
I was selected as one of 4 artists to complete work for the NoteWorld Servicing Center corporate offices in Tacoma. The time frame is very tight, so I have been working double time on that. I also have a solo show at the Friends Gallery at Lakewood Library going up on Nov 1st, so I need to get crankin' to have some more new pieces to put up. The images are the finished set of linocuts of the message series.

Here is a short list on some events coming up:
1. Exhibition in Dupont, Patriots Landing. Oct 2nd, 2009-Mar 28th, 2010, 1600 Marshall Cir, Dupont, WA 98327
2. Solo show at Lakewood Library. Nov 2nd-30th. 6300 Wildaire Rd SW, Tacoma, WA 98499
3. Beginning Polymerplate class taught on Tuesday mornings in November in my studio. More info and syllabus on my website front page.

4. Art At Work Month- a citywide event in Tacoma. Open studio tours, Nov 7-8th, 10am-4pm. F.S. Harmon Building, 2926 S. Steele St. Tacoma, WA.

5. A table at the 37th Annual Yule Boutique, at Pacific Lutheran University, Nov 22, 9am - 5pm. 12180 Park Avenue S, Tacoma, WA

6. In the works a portfolio print, some other exhibitions, a possible co-op membership in Seattle and children's book illustrations for a local author.

I had sworn to be busy after my husband deployed, and I can say the least I have accomplished that goal. It's all good though. I am thoroughly enjoying networking and making myself cozy in Washington. I miss my husband dearly every day, but keeping busy helps with having less time to feel sorry for myself and spending time with friends keeps me upbeat. Who knew water aerobics, bible study and walking dogs could provide so much joy in my life. :)

Solarplate and screenprinting videos

Here are a couple of links to videos that hopefully are helpful to you. The first one was take by myself at the Southern Graphics Concil conference in Richmond last year. It features Janet Ballweg from Bowling Green State University demonstrating how to expose, wash out and ink a solarplate.

The second one is a demo video for those who want to build their own screenprinting studio at home. The first half shows how to coat a screen with emulsion, and how to expose and wash it. The second half gets a little more quirky with adding led-lights and sound to the freshly printed shirt.

More helpful links and videos to come in the future!

Second bird print

So I finished printing my second bird solarplate this afternoon with the help of my husband who willingly submitted to helping me wipe plates and blot paper. I had a hard time proofing, and trying to figure out colors. I printed one proof on a animal book page, below, and thought it looked nice, but then figured since I don't have similar pages, all the prints would be really different and decided to ditch the idea. I might print some stragglers later on on sime different papers just to try the idea out once more.

I also attached the colorproofs and separations so you get a better idea of the process I go through. The last print, I drew with pencil on mylar, this time around I used a water soluble color pencil (black) on the same material. I like the texture from the pencil better. It was easier to get an even grainy surface, so from now on I will use it. The only bad part was that you can't erase mistakes as easily.

New Work

I am off to go visit Finland next week, and wanted to finish and proof solar plates that I wanted to use for the animal portfolio. This one is about knowing where your meat comes from since I feel that most people are so removed from food production. I think the title is going to be short and sweet: "Shortloin".

I have to play around with color a little more, but so far so good. I was going to work on it after I return in 3 weeks. If you have any comments I'd love to hear them.

How to built a lightbox

When I started working with the polymer- or solarplates last spring, I figured it would be the cheapest option just to build one. Since there was some trial and error, I figured I would share how I built the one we are using at school now.

The hardest part was figuring out the lights, since there are limited resources here in the "country". (I live about an hour out of Savannah, GA) If you are only going to do smaller plates and have the resources to buy one, get a facial tanning lightunit from ebay or from a supplier. Solarplates need UV light to expose, so the tanning units work great. Then all you do is just build a box around that. Note, regular fluorescent lightbulbs won't work.

I wanted to make a little bit of a bigger unit, to accomodate larger plates, so I built one out of MDF to house two- two lightbulb- ballasts. (total of 4 bulbs) The cost ended up being about $100 for everything.

Shopping list:

MDF

4- 2' blacklights that you can get from your home improvement store or even at Walmart

2- 2 bulb ballasts (Lowes)

Some screws and wood glue

2 hinges


Above. Here is a picture of the finished box with dimensions. I did not wire the cords from the two units together so you have to plug them in separately for now. Addition: You can plug the cords into a surge protector, which makes using them easy, since it has a switch on it.
Below. A picture from the inside of the box

A picture of the sides, the little strips are to make carrying easier. If yo plan on using the unit a lot, you might want to drill a couple of holes on the sides to let some of the heat out.

With this unit, the lights are about 8" away from the plate, and we have tested exposure to be 1 min 30 sec. For aquatint screens we have been doing about 1 min 10 sec first with the screen, then the same amount of time with the image.

Hope this is helpful to you. If you have any questions, please ask.

Two new prints

I worked hard this week/weekend! The theme was cow breeds in Finland that are about to go extinct. One is a 3-plate linocut and the other is a photopolymer intaglio plate. For the photopolymer, I made a drawing first, then I scanned it in and printed it on a transparency to expose the plate. Here is the first proof that I pulled off this morning. For more information on how this process works visit Dan Welden's site www.solarplate.com.