Bookbinding, Screenprinting and the MOMA

Hello all,

I am going to write this out in one fell swoop, then break it up to post as the blog doesn’t let you write long posts. Also, I have not yet configured my new laptop so not sure if I will be able to post from here, or if I will have to transfer this post to a portable drive first. My old one is on the brink of dying and so I have just purchased a new one, but have not yet set all the items up on it. Either way, this post will arrive on the Blog!

It has only been two weeks since I have been online, yet it feels like I have been away and out of the loop for much longer. So much happens in two weeks in our class! For now I will be posting what I have been doing, and reading what you all have been up to these past two weeks; then I will be posting to your blogs as well. I will probably post on the days you posted, and will let you know so you can go back and read if you are interested.

This semester has been a whirlwind of mini-workshops that have taken place in Dallas, Houston and New Jersey locations.

My recent class in Houston was learning two additional types of bookbinding: tacket and longstitch binding. This was a one-day workshop, and not as in-depth as the previous class I took in Houston where I learned two other types of bookbinding. This second class included handouts, which will help me to remember the steps needed to recreate these types of bindings. The first workshop I attended did not have any handouts, but I practiced making several books after the class so I have a working knowledge of what to do and with research online I should be able to find additional information to refresh my memory. I have purchased several books on how to create books, but many of the instructions are difficult for me to follow. There are so many details to remember when creating a book from scratch!

I learn best by doing and taking notes, or having notes written out that I can look at to review after learning something. I also must re-do what I learn very soon after learning or I will forget the process. That is why I made it a point to make several bound books immediately after my first bookbinding class.

The organic fabric dying class that I took earlier in the semester was so much fun, but I am not sure I will be able to recreate the process on my own without another class or two.

My most recent class, and the main reason I have not been online these past weeks, was a silkscreen workshop in New Jersey at the Printmaking Center of New Jersey. My big concern about taking a class on the East Coast was whether or not it would make. I spoke to them on the phone, and when they understood my position they agreed to hold the class whether or not there were enough students. Until the day before I left, I was the only student signed up! The intended plan was to have a two-day workshop and reserve the studio space for two or three additional days on my own.  The day I was leaving, another student signed up, and they changed the class time from being a two-day workshop to a one-day workshop since there were only two of us. As I had already purchased tickets for a set time (7 nights, 6 days), I thought I would have an extra day to work in the studio, but I was mistaken. They changed instructors and closed the studio the second day.

I arrived in New Jersey close to midnight, stayed at a hotel near the airport (not falling asleep until about 2 a.m.) then returned at 7 a.m. to the airport to rent a car as the location of the workshop was about 45-50 minutes away from the airport. The setting of the studio was in a rural area in New Jersey. It was beautiful. The class was scheduled from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. I had a big breakfast, but not realizing how rural the area was, and assuming I would find places to eat close by, I did not bring a lunch. I also figured I could make it until 4 p.m. without much difficulty, as there was coffee and water available. We took a short lunch break (they shared their food) and then went back to work. The class was very intensive and we ended up staying until 7 p.m. The person who taught the class was a young woman with her M.F.A. in printmaking. She had just started working at PCNJ and was very patient and thorough in her method of teaching. She also had great handouts! The first part of the day we learned how to prep a screen (using duct tape to cover the exterior and interior edges) how to coat a screen with photo emulsion, how to turn an image into a halftone, then burn the images onto the screen. We then learned how to register our images and pull the print (flood stroke – printing stroke). After we were finished, we were shown how to reclaim a screen by chemically removing the photo emulsion from the screen. Since we were using the screens that belonged to PCNJ our prints were very limited editions.

I and the other student came a second day to work together and practice what we had learned. As I had been extremely tired the day we had our workshop, it was very helpful to work together this second day to cement what we had been taught. She had very little knowledge of how to use Photoshop, so I assisted her in adjusting her image, and she helped me to remember all the steps involved in burning a new screen, setting up for printing and reclaiming the screen at the end.

On the next day, I had a scheduled appointment at the MOMA to view several artists’ works in the Print Room. I am thankful to Daniel (? – I will have to go over old posts to see who it was) for encouraging me to not take Louise Bourgeois out of the mix after finding the book I had ordered had nothing to do with printmaking and bookbinding. Although the book I purchased was not helpful (I did not return the book), I chose to continue researching her and had requested to see some of her work in this viewing. Upon entering the MOMA through a side entrance, I was signed in, then given a badge to wear that allowed to me enter the Museum. I went to see the Matisse exhibit before my scheduled appointment in the Print Room. As I was unaware of how special this badge was; I queued up in line, when one of the guards walked up to me and told me I could go right in…. I felt like a Very Important Person. Being a huge fan of Matisse, it was a perfect beginning to the day. I was unaware of how large his paper cutouts were. Many of them were enormous! The paper was hand painted with gouache, then cut up and repositioned onto the canvas with entomological pins before deciding on the placement of the shapes.  The best way to describe how I felt as I walked through the rooms of exploding colour was joyous! I could not stop smiling.

At the appointed time, I returned to the entrance where I was to meet the curator who would take me to the Print Room. I had sent on a list of art works that I wished to view several weeks before my arrival. You are not allowed to bring anything into the room besides a pencil, paper and a camera or phone but no flash is allowed. Except for a very small corner, I had the room all to myself. The artwork was spread out on a large table. The curator took me around and explained how to view the work. Several of the books were in a hand made “cradle” so as to prevent further deterioration upon handling. I was allowed to turn the pages, but was not allowed to take those books out of the cradle.

A few of the pieces I was not allowed to pick up, but most of the pieces and books I was allowed to touch.

I started to cry after she gave me the initial explanation of how to view these pieces; she started laughing and told me not to cry on the artwork. I had three precious hours to look at all these pieces.

This is a list of what I viewed:

Louise Bourgeois:

Hand-sewn fabric illustrated book “ODE A L’OUBLI”

Untitled (Holiday Laurel): Medium: Drypoint

Spiral Woman; Medium: Drypoint

He Disappeared Into Complete Silence: Medium: Engraving in an Illustrated book

Spirals: Medium: Woodcut)

Ear: Medium:Drypoint and aquatint, with hand additions

Pat Steir:

Word (Prints executed 1977): Illustrated Book with 5 Drypoints, with pencil and colored pencil

Sunflower: Medium: Woodcut

Roll Me a Rainbow: Medium: Screenprint

Marc Chagall

Los Ames Mortes (Dead Souls): Medium: Illustrated book with 96 etchings

Self Portrait with Grimace: Medium: Etching and Aquatint

Pablo Picasso

Le Chef-d’oeuvre inconnu: Reproduced drawings executed 1927-1931

Medium: Etchings, Wood engravings, Lineblock

Kazimir Malevich

Suprematism: 34 Drawings: Medium: Lithographs

Edouard Pignon

Three Mothers: Medium: Lithograph

After returning to New Jersey from this feast for the eyes and fingers, I went back to work at PCNJ for an additional day by myself. Thankfully I remembered all the steps, and designed a second screen with four images to bind into a mini-book upon my return to Texas. I also printed several more of my first silkscreen before reclaiming both screens. I hope to be able to use some of these as frontispieces in additional small hand-bound books as well.

Upon my return to Texas I immediately got sick, and spent much of my weekend in bed, then a week of catch up at school. I have been also catching up on much needed sleep; I have been falling asleep about 7-8 p.m. and sleeping through the night for several days. I think the time change and winter have put me into a semi-hibernation mode.

I will be attending one more workshop in Houston the weekend of our last online class. That class will be on paper marbling. Between the two other workshops I have taken at the Houston Printmaking Center and this upcoming workshop, I will be able to completely create a book from scratch, along with making my own inside marbled end papers. I have done marbling on my own in the past, but have never been really pleased with the end results. I hope this class will teach me what I need for a better end product.

This week I will be visiting your blogs to catch up with all that you have been up to in my absence from our class.

I will also be posting pictures. I am still figuring out how to use this blog. I forgot I could make my own post, and now I have to figure out where the place is to load images again! As this is a brand new computer, I have no images set up on it so cannot post at this time.