Screen Printing on Plywood

In the quest of expanding on some recent techniques I learned at Highpoint Center for Printmaking, I've been wanting to go beyond printing on paper and work with materials that are a bit more architectural - like plywood! Interestingly enough, the one thing that I have noticed is that despite the material and thickness differences, printing on wood actually behaves quite similar to paper with the added bonus of the wood grain as a part of the piece. 

Still using the Iceland image, since it was already burned, the top image shows a watercolor print, the second down is a graphite print, and last but not least is an opaque print. Most of the plywood (with the exception of stray unknown pieces) that I've been printing on is Baltic Birch. 

Unleashing my inner hidden woodworker, I made one sample panel for a more involved four screen print with the help of my fathers tools and his garage. First we took two pieces of plywood and cut them down to size, with the flat side for screen printing, and the frame side meant to sit flat against the wall and accommodate the hanging hardware. Next we glued them together with standard interior grade elmer's wood glue.  They dried overnight, and the next morning we planed down the edges so they aligned flat. The final step involved taking the rough piece to a wood worker with a router or table saw.  The ply's in plywood are one of the inherent characteristics that show how it is constructed, so I wanted to have the edges of the piece beveled, exposing the ply's like a reverse frame. 

Lessons Learned:

01. To avoid an excessive amount of planing, cut the two pieces of plywood at the same time

02. Don't shop at Home Depot or Menard's.  Finding quality plywood there is impossible. Go to a specialty wood store.

Time to expose the screens!

Iceland Sketchbook

All ready (at least the sketchbook is ready) for the Iceland trip.

I searched through pretty much every sketchbook at Wet Paint to find one that both had suitable watercolor sketching paper, but also a good printable cover and came up with this Hand Book sketchbook by global art materials. Not perfect, but pretty close for now. My ideal sketchbook would allow for flat full spreads (which this one does), have hot pressed watercolor paper (can't find a single sketchbook that has this), and have a good screen printable cover (which this has).  I'll admit the linen cover made me a bit nervous, but after securing the book in place and four passes of ink, the image still came out quite clear.

No new sketchbook would be complete without color guides! Admittedly, in addition to the new sketchbook I also purchased a set of 12 Holbein Watercolors, which I am planning on taking with. Thus, doing double duty, this also made for a good reason to test out mixing some colors, and trying out the paper in this book.

Back at screen printing, here is a quick run-down of the process... Above is the vector silhouette of the country of Iceland that I drew in Adobe Illustrator, printed on acetate film, and exposed.

With a fully exposed, washed, and dried screen and this set up I was ready to print. 

Because of the thickness of the sketchbook, and the normal depth that using clamps allows, we added an extra piece of wood between the table and where the clamps are attached.  Of course, then a bit more support is also needed for the bottom of the screen as well. I only had one chance to get this print "right," otherwise I'd have to buy another sketchbook, so I taped down some guides to hold the book in place while I pressed the ink through the screen. Since it took four passes to get the complete image, it's a good thing the book stayed in place!

Bell Museum with Metro Sketchers

Back at the Bell.  With too much to catch up on at home I wasn't able to stay too long (perhaps a good thing for practicing sketching on site), but was able to hatch out portraits of these Dall's Sheep. As I was sketching away, immersed in my own world a museum-goer made the comment, "it must be easier since they are standing still."  With a quick laugh and a "yes, of course" on my part she moved on.  Though we have yet to see a Dall Sheep on a backpacking trip (they reside in the high mountain ranges from British Columbia to the arctic) we have quite often come across the shy big horned sheep.  Their sense of sound must be significantly more attuned than ours as we spot them 500+ feet away and they quickly scamper on and out of our sight.  Yes, I could never sketch these animals in real life ("now hold still, turn to the right, and put one hoof forward"), but sketching this museum is a nice close second.  Though if any wild animals would like to sit and look pretty for a sketching session, I am of course in! 

Rock Island State Park

Summer is here? Well, at least the summer weekend getaway part has officially started. This Memorial Day weekend we spent three days camping on Rock Island, off the tip of Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin. It's interesting how two islands so close to each other can be quite different when it comes to weather... Washington Island was green and booming with signs of Spring, yet on the 15 minute boat ride to Rock Island we felt the temperature drop immediately and green leaves had not quite started budding on the trees. We were very lucky to have three gorgeous days camping on the island, despite the cold and windy mornings and evenings, the days were sunny and calm as we went about exploring the island.

The sketch above is of the iconic boathouse that greats you as you dock on the island. Much of the Islands history and structures owe their existence to a wealthy Icelandic inventor/settler who lived in Wisconsin and used this island as a retreat. With the exception of the roof, the boathouse is made from materials derived from the island itself. Quite impressive given the small scale of the island.  

In support of Wet Paint's summer travel sketch postcard initiative, the above sketch was sent to them for a window display. 

Waking up in the morning is always my favorite. With few people up, it's almost like having the island to yourself, if only for a few moments.  Our campsite was right next to a white rock beach where I drank my coffee, enjoyed the sound of the waves lapping ashore, and sketched a bit of our surroundings.

"Alternative" Screen Printing Methods

About a weekend ago I had the chance to take a class on "Alternative Screen Printing methods at Highpoint Center for Printmaking taught by the talented Drew Peterson.  I have to admit that I immediately signed up for this class as it brought back memories of those fun days in thesis hanging out in the print studios and playing around with different print media and my screen. And in one short weekend I learned a lot...

New materials! Including graphite (used directly on the screen), Carbon Black (acrylic painted on acetate and then burned to screen), and Screen Drawing Fluid/Screen Filler.

Normally I tend to be a bit more pre-meditated and composed with my images, but most of what we experimented with was completely free-form - so a free form weekend it was!

Below are a few of the images I created using 2, or a combination of all of the options above.

From left to right... 1. graphite, black acrylic from acetate transfer, and water color via screen drawing fluid 2. Same as the first, but with the first pass of graphite 3. Black acrylic from acetate transfer, and water color via screen drawing fluid 4. Graphite and watercolor (from burned black acrylic acetate transfer.) and 5. Watercolor on watercolor.

The interesting thing about working with the graphite was that it got lighter with more passes on new paper (obviously), but some parts didn't transfer at first, and by the last piece, they transferred quite dark while everything else transferred light.

Free form graphite passes on the drying rack. Notice the difference from right to left as far as what pushed through the screen and what was already been used up.

For a closer look at using watercolor directly on a screen, on the first day I did some free form drawing directly on the screen.  My understanding is that you can use anything that is water-soluble including watercolor pencils, watercolor crayons, and traditional watercolor.  You never know ahead of time exactly how it will turn out, so it's always a surprise:)

This first one is a more traditional "old school" architectural illustration with both watercolor and graphite drawn on the screen (separate screens), and the second is completely random - just getting back into the swing of things!

Mill City Museum with MetroSketchers

Finally... a gorgeous day to sketch outside! Today's sketch-outing was at the Mill City Museum - a must see for any visitor to the city (and this native sadly admits that she has not actually been inside...).  Case and point - sidetracked by the beautiful weather outside and the old mill foundations along the river make for finding a quiet peaceful place. The other motive for sketching outside was that inside we could only use pencils. So we (Claire and myself) found a few nice stones down by the river to sit down and sketch on.

A few months ago (about six I think) I purchased a small sketch pad of hot press water color paper as a test because as much as I love the "tooth" on my Moleskines, I wanted to try something smoother. And per usual, it sat on the shelf unused because I was too accustomed to other materials. I'm not sure if something in me snapped as I walked out the door this morning, but curiosity got the better of me and I grabbed the unused hot press pad. Needless to say, I do believe I am quite happy with the results... nice blending with the watercolors, and a smooth paper that does not distract from the image.

Right before the watercolor is added.

 

Everybody's sketchbooks all lined up:) Great inspiration!

Dave's Brewfarm

With the weather warming up we decided to make one of our token trips out to Dave's Brewfarm. We make the 1hr. pilgrimage a few times a year and find our visits to be like hanging out with a family member who has their own farm. Dave's beer is quite delicious and never ceases to impress us on each visit with his ever changing highly, creative menu. While I can't comment on the intricacies of the beer (I'll leave that to my husband), what I can note is perhaps the new found purpose of designated driver in return for sketching time. With so many new breweries popping up I can imagine this becoming a welcome compromise.

Union Depot - With MetroSketchers

So I've been secretly dying to check this place out ever since it was remodeled (I was also secretly dying to check it out before it was remodeled... urban spelunking anyone?). It's amazing to see a place not only go through such an involved remodeling effort, but come back to life in the original use it was intended for. Right now is a great time for sketching as it is open public space, and the light rail that will connect St. Paul and Minneapolis (finally) is not quite up and running yet.  Even with hoards of people though, I'm sure we'd still find a way to sketch.

The beautifully remodeled waiting room

 

One of my favorite parts of the gathering - sharing our sketches

 

 

Saint Paul above from the private rooftop deck for depot residents

 

 

 

Irving Park

 

 

Finally - the first really warm day when you can actually sit outside and not want to leave within 5 minutes because you are cold! In celebration we headed down to Irving Park for a sketching session. I often forget about this one, it's just a little bit further than my usual walking routes, it's tucked in a historic neighborhood, and it's simple and quite small. Being spring, everything was still brown and grey, so we'll definitely have to come back here in the summer.  The park itself is quite a popular place for weddings in the summer surrounded by well preserved historic houses, the park also serves as the namesake for the neighborhood. As tempting as it is sometimes to draw those historic houses, I settled on the fountain center piece this time.

 

As a side note, I'm practicing trying to draw quicker - Look, no ruler!

 

 

St. Paul Conservatory with MetroSketchers

Wow! Sketching at the St. Paul Conservatory this afternoon was absolutely amazing. This annual event marked the third anniversary of the Metrosketchers, as well as an up and coming spot on channel 11 news (next Sunday) and a wonderful afternoon with my dear friend Claire, and fellow lady-architect sketcher.

The afternoon was filled with a series of firsts.  For myself, that has been the most public and crowded place that I have openly sketched in.  For Claire, this was her first commission!  As I tend to sketch nature and spaces, Claire loves to sketch inspiring people.  After chatting with a mom with her baby daughter for a bit, she quickly offered to draw a sketch of the baby as practice. Check out this picture of them together:

And of course, us and our finished sketches!

 

And it goes without saying, a huge thanks to the dedication of Liz Carlson a Tim Jennan for all the time, dedication, and passion they put into this to bring us all together. 

Winter Weekends at Indeed Brewing

All of these long winter days has lead us to find and explore outlets that get us out of the apartment. With my husband looking at starting a brewery and my pending Architecture Registration Exams we've taken to a form of "hanging out" at local breweries.  More than just enjoying a handcrafted beverage, he gets to try any amount of any beer he wants (usually while chatting with other beer fanatics), whilst I, as a designated sober cab, get to enjoy the opportunity to sketch this trend. With all the new local breweries popping up it's quite a challenge to catch them all!

In architectural drawing there's a constant argument over how to represent people. Should they be shown "hyper-realistic," do they distract from the space, or add to it? Should they be shown as implied, such that the focus is on the building.  Every architect has their own (widely varying) opinion on this. Urban sketching by contrast focuses on drawing on site and capturing the moment as you see it.  In this case I hope I've captured a semblance of both - that is drawing on location and on the spot, but influenced by the desire to find this balance between architectural space and the people who inhabit it.

Audubon at the Bell Museum

 

Wow, after a few months of being holed up studying, having a weekend to actually do something fun was amazing.  Ever so conveniently for myself, this coincided with a Metro Sketchers gathering at the Bell Museum to sketch the second part of the Audubon exhibition. If you're familiar with nature illustration, then you're familiar with the work of John James Audubon, famous for his sketches of birds. Which brings me to an interesting observation of his work that I chose to draw - I omitted the birds. A crime?  I'll pass this one off as artistic license.  While I admire the work of Audubon greatly, in this piece I was more struck by the dramatic landscape then the large birds originally drawn in (one on top of each cliff).  The birds in flight were added later in order to help lead the eye through the rocks. 

Sunday's at Nina's Cafe

Nina's Café on Selby has easily become our café of choice for a Sunday morning "relax over coffee, but get something fun done," session. In my case, this often means spending some time with my sketchbook, and in Chris's case, this means working on his business plan for the brewery. Ok, it also often means ARE study time too... But seriously, we need to have some fun too:) In the winter we find ourselves here more often then not these days as we look to get out of the apartment.

And important lesson was learned on this morning is if we don't want to be sketched while we are working on the business plan, then we should sit at a table more a the perimeter of the space so Jodi can draw the architecture and other people instead (see sketch above).

Sometimes we don't get to stay for too long, just enough time to have a quick cup of coffee and be on our way.

Back to the very beginning, this was one of the first sketches I did this summer on one of our first business plan/sketching outings.

Minnesota Museum of American Art - with Metro Sketchers

 

For someone who just doesn't know that much about fiber arts, the Minnesota Museum of American Art has a great show going on entitled "Repetition and Ritual: New Sculpture in Fiber".  Maybe I've never really been drawn to fiber arts because it reminds me of a craft sport like "extreme quilting" that one would create. Nonetheless, take something like fabric and yarn and get out of the box by making it sculptural; allow it to hold its own weight and suddenly, ah-ha, this makes perfect architectural sense.

 

This piece by Emily Barletta drew me in because of the barnacle like connection to blood cells and vessels.  The inspiration of human biology gave her pieces all had a common thread  that tied them together (no pun intended). Upon reading her bio you would understand why - how could an artist go through major surgery and not have it influence her work?

 

Anyways, enough art rambling. Here is the original piece:



And with a few seconds to spare, I was able to get in one more quick sketch of another amazing piece:

And the original:

As always, be sure to check out the work of all the Metro Sketchers as featured on the blog and facebook page.

Monoprinting with Gelli Plates

This past gathering at the MCBA Visual Journal Collective I got the chance to try something  I've been wanting to try for quite a while - Monoprinting with Gelli Plates.  The process is quite similar to gelatin printing, except you don't have to cook your own gelatin mold, and instead use a gelatinous slab that can be reused. The main benefit of this process is that it is easy to do at home - no access to expensive equipment is required! Besides being quick, easy, and a bit whimsical, I would imagine that you could use this method to print on any solid surface as well as combine with other printing methods to create compelling images.  I haven't have a chance to play around with this more (yet) but wanted to share my first stab at it.

In the first print (on the left) I used the brayer mostly to push the paint around and then color shapers for the smaller marks.  The second print (on the right) was pulled using what was left on the gelli plate from the first print, with the addition of a bit more paint and a layering of stencils.

A huge thanks to Briana Goetzen with Orange Spiral Arts for sharing this with us.

Lakewood Cemetery with Metro Sketchers

Wow! Nothing like being able to sketch at a beautiful place on a gorgeous day... I think I could have spent all day in a happy state of blissfulness with my sketchbook and Joan Sorano's new Mausoleum at the Lakewood Cemetery.  Any opportunity for my inner (almost) architect self to come out is a good one:) Committing to sketch a section cut of this masterpiece felt as much an exercise in studying and understanding scale proportion as the usual light/shadow/composition challenges that urban sketching brings. Bit by bit, walking down the long hallway each little nook revealed itself as unique and compelling, yet still a part of the greater whole. This is what I hoped to capture - the subtle nuances and manipulations of space.

Again, given the opportunity I could have easily spent endless hours here.  Hopefully next time I'll venture above ground more, but until then, here are a few other photos of the site and building:

Vikings game at The Muddy Pig

How to get your non-football-fanatic wife to "watch the game with you." First, take her out to a bar and order her a drink.  Once that has been taken care of, turn away and keep your eyes glued on the game.  Turn back around to talk to her during commercials and learn why she agreed to come and "watch the game" with you.

So obviously I am not the biggest football fan.  But this did seem to work.  Who knows what might be next for me? Golfing and Fishing and Hockey here I come!



Hanging out at one of the bars in our neighborhood within walking distance, The Muddy Pig. Oddly they were not packed for the game.  Maybe they don't have a reputation as an all out sports bar, but they are definitely known as one of the top 100 beer bars in America.  The only other one to make the list in Minnesota is also within walking distance. 

 

A quick pencil underlay at the bar.  It's still hard for me to commit to jumping in with pen sketching right away.

 

Media:  Carbon Ink, Micron Pen, and Watercolor Crayon



St. Louis Girls Weekend

Labor Day Weekend I got together with two of my good friends from Baylor University for a girl weekend in St. Louis.  Yes, I used to live in St. Louis, but most of the people I knew when I was there are no longer there, and it is amazing how much the city has changed! I was able to fly in Friday night and fly out Monday evening, which gave us 2.5 days of running around the city.  It never ceases to amaze me how much St. Louis has to offer beyond the iconic arch. We went to live blues music in the landing, a guided Schlafly brewery beer tasting, the new addition at the St. Louis Art Museum, the Japanese festival at the Missouri Botanical Gardens, the Budweiser brewery tour, and hiking in Castle Rock State Park,  amongst many meals of delicious food and beverages.  Next year it's a girls weekend in Minnesota!

I wanted to bring my sketchbook, of course, but knew I would be constantly battling the fact that no one really wants to sit and wait for me.  A strategy was in order here.  Before I left I drew up a comic strip like composition of boxes, open space, and text lines.  The thought was that this would force me to limit myself to very small sketches.  Did this really work? Eh, kind of... yes, it did force me to stay small, yes I was able to do some sketching in a more timely manner with everyone staring at me, but no, I will not claim that I was able to sketch absolutely everything on site (the ideal).

Bell Museum Sketch Night #1 - Celebrate Something Sketchy

 

 

Here is a new one that I was happy to learn about - Sketch Night at the Bell Museum! Once a month the Bell Museum of Natural History hosts an open sketch night for all ages and abilities. Amateurs sketch right along side accomplished illustrators. In addition to being able to sketch anything in the museum, they bring out pieces from their collection not normally on display.  Ok, great idea. Why don't more museums do this?

 

In my first night here I managed to hatch out two sketches. The one above (sketched second) was from a diorama that I admit caught my eye right away as I passed by. I must be a softie when it comes to cute little baby animals.

 

 

And this is the diorama I was sitting in front sketching.  In all, the night lasts two hours.

 



 

Above is my first sketch of the evening. I thought the bone practice would be nice - like back in the days of freshman drawing when your teacher creates an intricate display of obscure objects you have never seen before, inevitably including many bones from unknown animals. I thought this practice a bit um, weird, the first time I came upon it, but now older I feel like I understand it more.  What better way to learn about the subtleties of shadow, texture, and form when these elements are so minimal?  After concentrating on this particular bone for a while I did stop and ask what it is - an Ostrich bone, the top of the lower rump to be specific.

 



 

If you do get a chance to stop by the Bell, there is currently a great exhibit of sketchbooks in the art gallery from those who sketch regularly that is definitely worth checking out!





TRNP/Maah Daah Hey Trail - Part 2

With thunderstorms, achy feet, and a washed out river this is where we decided to take a bit of a detour from the trail and explore some of the other sights in the area. This is also where I was brutally attacked and the reason for the delay on this post.  I sat down on a bench quite unsuspectingly, opened by sketch book, laid out my crayons, and began sketching the teepee, fence, and barracks across the way.  A few minutes later I heard a loud obnoxious shout from across the lawn in a deep southern drawl, "Oh, my gawsh, look everybody, she's going to sketch!"  As I had suddenly gathered the attention of um, every single human being within a 10 mile radius, 5 people came running straight at me. Looking at what I had on my paper, barely a few lines, I mumbled a few words to them and humbly packed up as soon as I could get them away.  Don't get me wrong, I like talking to people, just not being called out unsuspectingly in front of a crowd and descended upon like a flower that a swarm of bees are heading straight for.

Back at home, I looked at the sketch I had and the frustrating memory that went along with it and decided to erase it all and start over and draw the fort instead.

 

 

Off the trail we had the chance to explore other parts of Theodore Roosevelt National Park that we would not have otherwise seen.  In this case, doing a few of the day hikes in the northern unit, I fell in love with the rock formations of cap rocks, flutes, and cannon balls, all signs of the erosion of wind on rock with varying densities. 

 

Heading back down to Medora we stopped at this small town of 100 people whose claim to fame is a sod post office.  It no longer functions as a post office, but instead has an interesting array of historic items inside.

We spent our last day back in Medora just looking around and relaxing.  Here I was sitting at the motel pool enjoying a beverage whilst watching no one swim. After all the running around we had done the previous 9 days it was nice to sit down and relax for a day before heading home.