Artist Statement

A big part of my identity is American. I think being different sets you apart from other people. Whether it is the way you speak, look, dress or your actions. I wanted my prints (collagraph, screenprint and woodcut) to represent my identity as an American. Each print represents an iconic image that each are very personal to me. Weather it is the Brooklyn Bridge that I used to walk across or the Subway station that was my means of transport to everywhere in New York City. I focused on the American Flag in my collagraph prints. I used the original colors, red, white and blue in my print. I then wanted to create my own flag by representing where I am now, and that is Ireland. So I swapped the colors red, white and blue for the colors in the Irish Flag. For my screenprints I chose iconic images. I used bright neon colors in my 'Subway' print because as soon as you step out of the subway station on 42nd street you are hit by the bright lights of Times Square. For my woodcut I chose the #6 subway going to the Brooklyn Bridge. I wanted my woodcut to relate to my screenprint of the Brooklyn Bridge. I feel that I showed my identity through my prints and represented the place I came from.....New York City.

FINAL WOODCUT

"A subway ride to the Brooklyn Bridge" 

Here is my final woodcut print. It is a print of a moving no. 6 subway train going to the brooklyn bridge (which i wanted to tie in with my previous screen print of the brooklyn bridge)

I originally had 2 layers of color, red and blue.... but I thought the print needed something extra so I tested a few colors on some test prints and decided that adding a final 3rd layer of yellow ink that I mixed in with some transparency.

Printing Press's

Drying Rack

Ink

Roller

Here I was testing out ink's and colors that I was planning to use for my print

Here are some examples of woodcuts... (some have a New York theme) 

woodcut printed on rice paper

Japanese Printmaker that I admire:

Houksai

Famous woodcut-  "The Great Wave of Kanagawa" 

The Great Wave or simply The Wave, is a woodblock by the Japanese artist Hokusai. An example of ukiyo-e art, it was published sometime between 1830 and 1833

Mount Fuji

"Pink and Red Peonies Blown to the Left in a Breeze and a Butterfly"

Woodcut is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood. The surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink-covered roller, leaving ink upon the flat surface but not in the non-printing areas. Multiple colors can be printed.

WOODCUT

FINAL "BROOKLYN BIRDGE" PRINT

I used three layers for this print. I started with a light blue, then I used a grey and concluded with a black to add shadows and depth to my print. 

FINAL "SUBWAY" PRINT

1st Layer (neon pink)

2nd Layer (neon blue)

I decided to use very bright neon colors because when i think of getting off the subway at 42nd street Times square I think of bright lights and lots of bright colors

 

Here are some screen prints (with a New York/ American theme I have found from some amateur artists on the web.

Dominic Clifford

Rob Gault

"Idea board" 

Here I have written down my ideas and hung up some prints print screen print artists that I admire. They have also done some prints on New York, or on American themes. 

Screens 

Wash screen with power hose

Screen, Ink, Squeegee

Large Screen printing Press

I am really excited to start collagraph! I want to keep my theme of America the main focus. On a recent trip back to my hometown of New York City I took pictures of lots of iconic images that I felt represented me and where I came from. The two images I chose to turn into screen prints are a picture I took of the "Brooklyn Bridge" with the "Queensbroro Bridge" in the background and "The subway station" - (42nd street Times Square)

A Collagraph print is a collage printmaking technique and is a form of Intaglio printing. The collagraph plate is printed in the same way as etchings, but also include the basic principle of relief printing and can be printed either as intaglio or relief.

The term collagraph refer to a collage board where the materials are assembled on a flat base or plate (matrix) to form a relief block with different surface levels and textures. 

Collagraph plates are created by sticking and gluing materials like textured paper or fabric onto the plate and then coat it with varnish or acrylic medium afterwards to protect the materials.

The plate can be made from wood plates or cardboard plates that you build up using different materials.

SCREENPRINT

FINAL COLLAGRAPH PRINTS

AMERICAN FLAG

Original Red, White and Blue American Flag

IRISH/AMERICAN FLAG                             

My idea for this was to create my own flag.  I wanted to represent Ireland (the country I live in now) by using the colors of Ireland. Green, white and orange. Not wanting to loose my identity I layered the colors on top if my original plate which is of the American flag.  

PRINTING PRESS

A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium (such as paper or cloth), thereby transferring the ink.

Black electrical tape and tile adhesive were used to make the stripes on the american flag

I cut out tiny stars out of white paper 

Here I made my stars out of glue

Base Board-things will be layered on to this to make our print 

Black electrical tape (for the stripes on flag)

Glue (to make stars)

Tile adhesive (for the stripes on flag) -this also add's texture 

Sanding paper (this is used for sanding down the tile adhesive so that the base board is able to run through the printing press) 

Varnish (this is the last step, you must wait for it to dry before putting ink onto the board) 

Before printing, I started off by making an "idea board".. I wrote down the method of printing, all my ideas, I drew some quick sketches, and hung up painting, drawings, prints etc.. that I took inspiration from. 

Idea Board

I am really interested in the work of Jasper Johns.Johns is best known for his painting Flag (1954–55), which he painted after having a dream of the American flag. Here are some of his works that I took inspiration from... 

I wanted to find an image that represented America the most, so what better image then the American flag to represent the United States..

This is a picture I took of the American flag flying in Brooklyn, NY     March 2012

I am going to make a series of prints using the printmaking method called Collagraph.


A Collagraph print is a collage printmaking technique. The Collagraph plate is printed in the same way as etchings, but also include the basic principle of relief printing and can be printed either as intaglio or relief.

The term Collagraph refer to a collage board where the materials are assembled on a flat base or plate (matrix) to form a relief block with different surface levels and textures.

Collagraph plates are created by sticking and gluing materials like textured paper or fabric onto the plate and then coat it with varnish or acrylic medium afterwards to protect the materials.

The plate can be made from wood plates or cardboard plates that you build up using different materials.

I think this is a really interesting, fun way of printing. 

Identity: is whatever makes an entity definable and recognizable


I like that part of my identity is American. I think being different sets you apart from other people. Whether it is the way you speak, look, dress or your actions.