Visiting Artist Ron Abram

Ron was the last artist that I had the opportunity to work with before the end of my summer internship. Ron is actually a UCF grad! He stayed a little longer than most artists and enjoyed a the summer here in sunny Florida...on a side note, a friend of mine actually taught his son in her summer class at the OMA!

Ron is a professor at Denison University in Ohio and he is also a printmaker (primarily etchings). I found a great little interview clip online here of Ron explaining his artwork from an exhibition in Ohio.
In the work that he was doing at FHP, he was taking his old plates (from about 20 years ago) and combining them with his new plates. As interns, we were helping him rub out some of the old plates. There were some elements from them that he wanted to keep and some that he didn't. He was also interested in using images from old books, comics, and advertisements. I am looking forward to seeing the finished product! He was a great guy and easy to talk to, so I hope he'll come back soon!

Here is a bio I found from the Denison University website:
"Professor Abram joined the faculty in 1995. He earned his MFA from Tyler School of Art of Temple University and received his BFA from the University of Central Florida. His recent work combines the traditional mediums of drawing and printmaking with other forms of artistic endeavor. As an artist and curator, he addresses the relationship of popular culture, community and personal expression in many of these ventures. He has exhibited his work in numerous solo/group exhibitions, here and abroad."


Of course, I will leave you with some photos...

Ron and an intern

some of the ads that Ron will use

Ron's work space he set up at the press

Ron's old plates

I was put to work tracing these guys from a comic

close up view of the guys I traced for Ron

Time for an UPDATE!

Sorry for the delay of this post! I had it in my drafts because I needed to add the photos!


Summer has been busy and so has the Flying Horse Press. Our last visiting artist, Nathan Redwood, left us with a complex print to make. We have been working on a reduction woodcut that has taken for-ev-er! So far we have 7 or 8 colors and still have 3-6 more to go. It has been quite a job, but the biggest challenge has been registration. Good registration is needed so that each layer of color lines up. I found a good description online-


"Reduction woodcuts are what the name implies: they are prints made by gradually reducing the printable areas of a wood block. This process involves working with a single block (matrix), printing a color, cutting more of the block, printing this new reduced image over the first print, and so forth depending on the number of colors the artist wants to print in a single image. The key to successfully making a reduction cut is a little planning and careful registration"

Nathan is an acrylic painter and wanted us use one of his paintings for the print. He didn't want/need the colors or forms to be an exact replica of the painting."


The print that the members of the FHP will get will be made from an image Nathan has created specifically for them. Collagraphy, screen printing, and woodcutting will be used in this print. Nathan has a signature brushstroke that they are trying to emulate with the screen printing. A graphic designer will be scanning in the image of the brushstroke and breaking it down in to approx 10 different layers of color. Those 10 or so layers will be made in to screens. By using this many screens for one stroke, you can see how this will be very dimensional and realistic. It will look as though Nathan actually painted each of the prints. An example of someone who uses this technique for his prints can be seen here. 

I will leave you with some photos of Nathan's visit...

Nathan making a Mono-print

Woodcut

inking up the woodcut

all of Nathan's colors 

A collector's painting that Nathan has to fix while he is in town

            

        messy YES!!

Summer and Internship

Year 2 is over and I only have 1 more year of my Masters left! This summer I am working, making art, and interning at the Flying Horse Press, the fine art press at UCF. I hope to learn more about printmaking (duh) and also meet some pretty great artists who will be coming in to print there. As interns, we will be assisting the artists with whatever it is they would like us to do, which actually can consist of making their editions. Today we stamped some box covers for Russell De Young prints (iphone pic below).

I will be creating my own mini accordion books this summer and will be using this machine to stamp the front of them with beautiful foil. I am unsure what the subject matter of my books will be at this time, but I will be making a lot of them that is for sure. I have also started making some "patties" for my new project. I am making as many of these as possible with the fabric I have and stringing them together. This will turn out to be many feet long.