PRINTMAKING
Printmaking is a broad term that describes a process of hand-printing art from a variety of mediums and technical processes. They can be either one of a kind monoprints or accurately alike reproductions within a set edition. Etchings, lithographs, wood and linoleum block, and silkscreen printing are a few of the methods that Joanne has explored in her artistic practice. While obtaining her degree in Fine Arts from the University of British Columbia she majored in printmaking in order to explore the dynamics of each individual print medium.
She has since continued studies and practice in printmaking at the
Hui No’eau visual arts center in Hawaii.
In linoleum and woodblock printing, the negative space in the image is carved
out. The block is then evenly inked up with a roller called a brayer. Then
the block is either run through a printing press or hand rubbed with a tool
called a barren.
For etchings, a metal plate of usually copper or zinc is first covered with an acid-resistant wax called hard ground. Then the image is incised into the ground with an etching needle. Finally the plate is dipped into acid. The acid bites into the exposed lines where the ground was removed and these acid-bitten areas are what hold the ink. Aquatinting creates darker areas of tone or solid color. First powdered Roslin is sprinkled over the plate and then melted. This creates a porous resist for the acid to bite through resulting in a texture that retains ink once the plate has been wiped. For each print, the metal plate is hand inked and then meticulously wiped, then run through a printing press. An edition of handmade prints is always small in number unlike technological means of reproduction because the original art plate disintegrates over time.