Printmaking

Like the development of spoken and written language, the invention of paper and printing was a huge step for humankind. Religions spread over countries, various kinds of information could be widely communicated. Over centuries, printmaking techniques emerged, had their primes, were replaced by others. Today, some of them are used mainly or exclusively as artist mediums.

Compared with other visual arts, printmaking shows some special qualities. Asthetically printmaking is connected to drawing and painting while working on the plate can pass into the area of sculpture.
The successful creation of a print especially from several plates might require detailed planning and analysis as well as logistic and experience in handling materials like wood, metal or paper.
A special quality of printmaking is the option to keep single working steps or states which can be reproduced after the works completion, or even can be reworked by re-using old plates as new starting points.

Printmaking has a certain social element – as the reasonable priced multiple naturally refers to a bigger audience, by the fact that the easily reproduced print made printmaking perfectly suited for political expression, and lastly in the places of printmaking, the studios where artists meet and exchange aesthetic and technical ideas.

Making prints means consistently being confronted with new situations and thus being forced to find solutions for new emerging problems. It requires patience and makes the present of meditative moments and the thrilling moment of pulling a first proof. It is fun.

On these pages I present the three printmaking techniques I am mainly using in my own art work: intaglio, woodblock and screen printing.

Intaglio, the printing from metal plates, is a printmaking technique which is deeply connected to the European art history. Here I explain the process of printing a drypoint intaglio.

Woodblock printmaking is one of the oldest printmaking technique. I am cutting and printing my own woodblocks using the technique of the Japanese woodblock print. Very important for that is the Japanese paper. Here I also demonstrate the printing process of a woodblock print by the Japanese technique.

The first (woodblock) prints were done in China. Here I present information about history and technique of the traditional Chinese woodblock print and the Chinese folk art woodblock print. And there is also as an excursion of my short trip into the world of working with Chinese porcelain.

Screen printing is a recent printmaking technique, based on stencilling. Here I demonstrate the process of screen printing. And this is a report on kazazome, a traditional Japanese stencil technique, used for dying fabric and paper.