{photos by Carolyn Eicher}
Greetings! If you happen to be going by the SLO Library before the end of the month, be sure to stop in and see some of our high school students’ artwork on display! These students took a Printmaking class at SLOCA last year, taught by Sandra Ronda, and their beautiful projects are presented in the entry hallway to the right when you walk into the library through the main doors. Two of Mrs. Ronda’s pieces are also framed and displayed in the cabinets along with the student work.
Sandra shared a bit about the process:
Last year the group of students in my Printmaking class enjoyed scraping the surface (pun intended) of two printmaking techniques. We began with Block Printing. Students carve into linoleum so that their design ends up in relief and it is then rolled with ink and printed. As with all of our printmaking techniques, the printed image is a mirror image of the original design.
We moved next to Etching – Drypoint Etching. We worked on a plastic etching plate, and using a sharp etching needle, we etched a design into the plastic. The mark made by the needle leaves a fine incised line with light feathering on either side of the line due to the material furrowing on either side as the plastic is displaced by the etched line. The plate is then covered with ink and the ink is daubed down into the lines. (Anywhere an etched line is created, that area will be black.) The plate is then wiped clean as the ink firmly settles into the etched areas. Paper is soaked in water, blotted, and set over the plate, then run through an etching press. The magic happens when the print is pulled off of the plate!!!
See a few examples of the finished pieces below – so lovely! The artwork should be up until October 31st or possibly later into next week.
(click on each photo for a slightly larger image)
