After an ungodly battle with that which is photo litho, I have triumphed and produced a satisfactory edition of Wrapped Pieta prints. It’s amazing how long it takes to produce an edition of litho prints in comparison to intaglio prints. I will never complain about inking up a intaglio plate EVOR again. If I do… smack me and tell me to “shut your face!”

My litho instructor rocks, but I have to say that no… no I don’t get what he’s saying. He always says, “Do you understand what I’m getting at?” after he critiques our work, and I usually just nod and smile. All the work we do is supposed to have a deep, meaningful purpose. We’re always to supposed to answer some question with our work and be ready to say, “I made this because…”

Me? No, I’m not that deep. I draw horses, parrots, fish, and pegazebracorns because I like them. I don’t care for realism because I see it every day through my own two eyes. I want to create something that you don’t see every day. I want a degree in printmaking because it’s FUN. FUN is all I have to say for my choice of subject matter. I’m not trying to make a big point. Both my instructors keep saying that any work you do needs to have a PURPOSE, but they’re not satisfied with the classic “I just wanted to” response. Whenever they make suggestions about what I should do with my work, it’s always something I would never do.

So, I gauge what they tend to like in a print and work with that. One of my instructors loves what he terms “Divine Excess.” Basically, he loves for us to cover every square inch of our paper with detail. White space is a big no-no. Minimalism is not for him. XD His class is really going against all my graphic design training. I’ve had the idea of KISS, Keep It Simple Stupid, beaten into my brain for years now, and it’s hard getting out of that mind set. I’m striving, though!

So, now the big challenge… forming deep insightful purposes for what I make. Hmmm…

“I drew this pegazebracorn because if I could to choose what animal I would transform into, it’d be this one! It’s a combination of all my favorite equines, a pegasus, a zebra, and a unicorn! WOOT!”

Think that’ll fly?