What a Relief

        Every year I hear countless comments about how amazing ELIs are and how they’re hard work, but completely worth it. So this semester I decided to give it a try. The only issue was I couldn’t choose what to study. Four topics later, I have finally settled on what I think is the perfect fit for what I am interested in: printmaking.

        I have printed before, and after taking all offered art classes here at Moscow High, I would have to say printmaking was my favorite.  In class we briefly covered basic techniques, and since schools have tight budgets, the tools and time were fairly limited. Regardless, I was still hooked. This summer I purchased a basic printmaking kit and got to work. Although my kit was minimal, I was able to make thank you cards, which was really fun.

        So far, I have mostly been doing research and talking with Mrs. McMurtry, who also loves to print, and local artist Laurel MacDonald. But now I‘m finally getting into the actual printing part. I am focusing on two main types; relief and intaglio. Relief printing is where you carve out parts of your plate (term to describe what you’re printing off of) and the raised parts are covered in ink, and then printed onto the paper. Intaglio is basically the opposite as you create “burrs” in your plate, which are pretty much small, thin indents, and they’re what hold the ink.  I’m really enjoying both, although I think intaglio works best with my art style. Anyway, I’m having a lot of fun with this and will soon share more, hopefully next time I’ll have some photos of my prints!

~Emily