Thank ya kind sir! They've got monoprinting coming up in September, I think. It was nice just to be back in a learning setting.

Thank ya kindly!

As for process - I'll offer some bullet points here, and hope to blog fully about it later this week.

The basic idea? Draw an image and then make the reverse of that image attract water, leaving exposed areas open to accepting ink. Then lay a piece of paper on top and roll through a press for transfer.

1.) PREP A PLATE (we used aluminum plates, thicker than a soda can, flat and matte like a piece of paper) - Prepping involves a vinegar wash to remove oils.

2.) DRAW! We used Lithographic "crayons" - some were like oil pencils, some like charcoal. Very much like a pencil, you can vary pressure to determine light or heavy lines.

3.) SET the image onto the plate. Once you're finished drawing, rub TALC powder into the image with a cotton ball.

4.) Use a small amount of GUM ARABIC (a yellowish liquid) to cover the entire surface of the plate. This will prevent ink from sticking to this part, leaving the crayoned bit ready for ink.

5.) PLATE ETCH is a darker liquid, used on the heaviest parts of the drawing. This attracts ink (I think).

6.) BUFF the plate with cheesecloth to a fine smooth sheen.

7.) STORE THE PLATE overnight. This allows for all the chemicals to set.

8.) The next day we essentially did the same steps over again (talc, gum arabic, plate etch) but this time we rubbed the image off (seemingly). It was actually ghosted.

9.) SPONGE the image with WATER.

10.) Roll on a layer of INK

(repeat steps 9 and 10 to achieve desired darkenss of ink).

11.) Place paper on top and run through a press that smooshes the inked image onto the paper.

That's it! Sounds simple? It really is - but we had TREMENDOUS teachers on hand to help us with every step. The great thing about Lithography is that you can print things many times without degradation.

Thanks!!