Glorious Uprising

Giovanni 13 May, 2019

These works of art were unique, fun to do, and came out amazingly. They are called the "Glorious Uprising" as it shows a bug ruling over other bugs and standing in front of riches. All of these works of art were created by "prints" which is ink that is applied to a carved surface, such as a stamp. I created my own "stamp" by taking a previous work of art and carving it into a piece of linoleum, making sure to pay attention to all of the small details. After creating that piece of the puzzle, I then used an ink to layer on top of the block (for block printing). I then pressed a piece of paper on top of the block by using a burnishing tool to make sure that I applied even pressure. I did the same for all of the four final prints, except that I used a magazine page for one.

To create the final result for all four works of art, I used watercolor paper and one magazine page. By applying the ink evenly, the print came out even and not splotchy. The first print was a solid print using blue ink. The second print was a multi-colored print, by which I used two different colors on the same block; purple and blue. By using two different brayers, "rollers" that are used to spread ink evenly on a block, I created the multi-colored surface. By being careful and not letting the ink touch the wrong brayer, I managed to make a two colored print that had two colors blend seamlessly together. After creating the multi-color print, I went on the make the non-traditional surface print by using the page of a magazine. After using a page that had a tree on it, scene of nature like insects, I used black to make a solid print that was placed right over the tree. However, because the ink was too dark, I had to use some white acrylic paint to outline a accentuate the form of my print. My final print was a normal solid color print of blue that was extended through the act of pen ink and marker. I created a shattered background to symbolize the fall of any type of empire. The beetle, which is seen as the ruler in my print, is going to fall from power like many other rulers before him.

This project was one of the more difficult ones for me. I had to make 22 prints to finally get the four that are seen above and many of the others were splotchy or did not have even ink application. However, the result is fantastic and I am happy that I was able to create such a good lineup of prints that look finished. I also think that this project was worth the difficulty and confusion because now I have done something new that may be useful in the future. I loved that I learned a new skill and I can't wait to put that skill back to use.