Alex Orgren Andover, New Jersey USA
'Home Safe'
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Artist's comments ...
Name: Alex Orgren
Location: Andover, NJPrint Title: Home Safe
Paper Dimension: 10"x7 1/2"
Image Dimension: 9 1/4" x 6 3/8"
Block: 7 shina blocks, 9 colors, 15-17 drops
Ink: Guerra pigment dispersion, Akua Kolor
Paper: Yamaguchi (from Baren Mall)
Edition: open
Comments: Is the journey over or not yet started?
The tranquility of port is fleeting, to be threatened by storms or forsaken in pursuit of livelihood and adventure.I had several goals for this exchange:
* work with browns
* work with pigment dispersions
* carve more blocks (unfortunately print more blocks, too)
* create texture
* push my limits on small carvingUnfortunately I had to abandon one of my main goals, which was a particular color effect that I'll save for another time. I also hoped to get more pronounced goma-zuri in the water, which was printed entirely without paste. I got some effect in proofs I did on Rives BFK, but not the paper for the final prints. The visible in the water is all carving of one sort or another. I generally like the pigment dispersion, but the browns were more of a challenge and a revelation than I bargained for. I've never had so many unexpected outcomes while mixing colors, especially with respect to value.
I continue to struggle with production quality. Every block has idiosyncracies that don't show up in the early prints, and their remedy isn't always obvious. Why isn't this bit printing? Why is this filling in? There are so many possible reasons and every block seems to invoke a new one. Moisture management still plagues me, but in a more subtle form. Some of the finer openings close up as the wood expands, and some registration problems arise from moisture entering or leaving different areas, especially non-printing areas. As in Exchange 36, my first batch of prints (even with more spares)
had too many dropouts, and I had to do a second batch of 12 quickly. I tweaked colors, adjusted some carving, and applied lessons from the first batch, and produced a second group free of dropouts. I ought to do either a larger run of proofs, or more but smaller printing batches. I also think working faster kept the moisture more even.