|
My studio is located
in my home garage on the Westside of Santa Cruz. It features a large
work surface, flat files for storage, a loft for storing framed artwork
and an excellent ventilation system which is used when I work with
oil-based inks and Ferric Chloride salts. With windows that look
into the garden and lots of natural light it is a very welcoming space.
The studio is
dominated a Griffin IV etching press. Click on the micrometer handle
photo to learn more about the press which is available for rent at $30
an hour to experienced printmakers.
|
Spacious flat files are topped with sheets of thick glass to offer a clean work surface for rolling out ink. Each drawer contains chine colle paper, printing paper, completed prints, mat board, wood cut tools and various other studio tools. My corner cabinet holds inks, tarltans, solvents, adhesives, ferric chloride and intaglio materials.
|
The Griffin IV press with slatted wood paper support platform spanning the leg bracing. When I purchased the press from a Santa Barbara artist he threw in stacks and stacks of Rives BFK printing paper piling three feet high.
|
|
Open studios is one of my favorite opportunities to show folks the processes of printmaking. Each year the Santa Cruz Cultural Council organizes a three-weekend event in October when over 200 artists from Watsonville to Davenport open their studios to the public. Over 300 visitors stopped my space during the two weekends and it's great to see folks return over the years to see what is new.
Once art fans see the materials and equipment involved in the creation of etchings they better appreciate the final work. After an inking and print pulling demonstration people say "Oh, that's how it's done - I thought you just printed these off of a computer." Once they see the press, smell the oily inks, feel the thick paper, and hear the explanation they understand the time that goes into making etchings. Some get so jazzed by the demonstration that they take my advice to try a class at our local Cabrillo College.
|
By far the best art supplies I have found are at Daniel Smith located in Seattle. Ink, Tarlatan, Rives BFK Paper, Ferric Chloride and blankets for the Griffin press are also purchased through this outlet.
|
|
