Crystal Cawley
ARTIST STATEMENT:
In this series I experimented with combining a repeated etched image (the schematic book page layout) with spine pieces made of various materials. For each print, I inked the etching plates and put them on the press, applied the chine collé paper to each plate, laid the spine piece down between the plates, put the backing sheet (Rives De Lin) over everything, and ran it through the press. After the prints were completely dry, I reworked them using collage, embroidery, and drawing. In some cases, the spine piece popped off as the paper dried and shrunk, leaving just an impression (happy acci) Chine-collé is a printmaking technique by which an image is printed onto a surface that is adhered to a heavier supporting paper. Rice paste is applied to the back of the chine-collé paper which is then placed paste side up on the inked plate. The heavier-weight support (conventional printmaking paper such as Rives or Arches) is placed on top. With the pressure of the press, the lighter paper is pasted to the support as the image is printed on it. Chine-collé allows the artist to print on delicate or unusual materials — in my prints I used end sheets and book pages from discarded library and school books.
In this series I experimented with combining a repeated etched image (the schematic book page layout) with spine pieces made of various materials. For each print, I inked the etching plates and put them on the press, applied the chine collé paper to each plate, laid the spine piece down between the plates, put the backing sheet (Rives De Lin) over everything, and ran it through the press. After the prints were completely dry, I reworked them using collage, embroidery, and drawing. In some cases, the spine piece popped off as the paper dried and shrunk, leaving just an impression (happy acci) Chine-collé is a printmaking technique by which an image is printed onto a surface that is adhered to a heavier supporting paper. Rice paste is applied to the back of the chine-collé paper which is then placed paste side up on the inked plate. The heavier-weight support (conventional printmaking paper such as Rives or Arches) is placed on top. With the pressure of the press, the lighter paper is pasted to the support as the image is printed on it. Chine-collé allows the artist to print on delicate or unusual materials — in my prints I used end sheets and book pages from discarded library and school books.
|
ARTIST STATEMENT: Library: Theme and Variations
This began as a participatory piece: I silk-screened the chair pattern and instructions onto several hundred discarded catalog cards from my local library. I made fifty-odd chairs myself for an exhibition in Georgia, and sent them with a chunk of printed cards to the gallery to distribute to visitors, to either make a chair to add to mine in the exhibition, or to have at home. I also gave away many cards myself over the last several years, and I am now out of printed cards, so these chairs are the last of their kind. Some of the holes in the chairs are the holes that were already in the cards, otherwise I took my hole punchers and made more to embellish the designs. |