Collagraph Plate 2020

Coronavirus has changed all our lives. I stay in my house, garden and studio most of the time. Art work has been limited to drawings and collagraphs. I can't do etchings because I don't have good ventilation in my own studio and that would be necessary with the kind of acid I use for etching copper. I couldn't even finish the two etchings I had in progress.

I knew that Kutztown University would be closing down although I had no idea it would be closed for this long. At first they were going to extend Spring Break for a week, then it was closing for the rest of the semester. At this time (June 26, 2020) I don't think they'll be fully open for in person classes in the fall. I'm happy to be retired now because I think it's impossible to teach a studio course like printmaking online. The last thing I did at the University was to cut three plates for collagraphs, two 36" x 31" and one 31" x 42". I didn't have preliminary drawings or even clear ideas for these prints but I knew I could make the plates and print these entirely in my own studio.

The first plate I made was a 36" x 31" plate. There were sketches but no full-size preliminary drawing, just an evolving drawing on the plate.

First Proof

Final Print