Child’s Play II
Veils Suite: Child’s Play II
monotype 60 x 45 cm.
Read the story behind this work.
And, what is a monotype?
You are browsing the Blog for Printworks Archives - Page 14 of 19 - Marja-Leena Rathje.
by Marja-Leena by Marja-Leena Veils Suite: Child’s Dream
Veils Suite: Child’s Dream
etching 112 x 76 cm. (44″ x 30″)
Please the story behind this work and its companion piece Child’s Play
Edited Jan.14th, 2013 to display larger view.
by Marja-Leena Veils Suite: Child’s Play
Veils Suite: Child’s Play
collagraph 120 x 80 cm. (47″ x 31.5″)
Please the story behind this work and its companion piece Child’s Dream
Edited Jan.14th, 2013 to display larger view.
by Marja-Leena about the Dreams series
At the end of the ‘Veils Suite’ series of prints, I created some prints called ‘Child’s Play’ and ‘Child’s Dream’, based on an actual dream I had.
In this dream, my little daughter danced happily into our bedroom early one morning, waking us up. She was in a ‘dress-up’ costume with a sheer veil over her head, like a bride. It was a very vivid image and a rare experience for me to be able to recall a dream so clearly, perhaps because I really did wake up then, fully expecting to see my veiled girl in the room. The titles reflect the make-believe dreams that children act out in their play.
The print ‘Untitled (Dream Passages)’ is a later development of ‘Child’s Dream’ and became a transitional piece between the two series. From these works grew a desire to continue to explore the concepts of dreams and memory, as I was at that time caring for my father in his last years. He was living with us, missing my mother greatly after she passed on, and had health problems that affected his memory. His confusions about past and present and his mixing of dreams and reality really made me aware about how much our memory and even our dreams make up our unique personalities, and how we function in day-to-day life.
by Marja-Leena Untitled I (Dream Passages)
Untitled I (Dream Passages)
etching & collagraph
120 x 80 cm. (47″ x 31.5″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena a drawing
Drawing for Memory/Dreams II
conté on paper 76 x 58 cm. (30″ x 23″)
Please view the print Memory/Dreams II to compare.
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena Memory/Dreams IV
Memory/Dreams IV
collagraph, etching, hand-colouring
120 x 80 cm. (47″ x 31.5″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena Memory/Dreams III
Memory/Dreams III
collagraph, etching, hand-colouring
120 x 80 cm. (47″ x 31.5″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.
by Marja-Leena collagraphs
Anna, in a nice comment on Memory/Dreams II asked “what’s a collagraph”? Googling came up with these results:
“The Collagraph print is best described as a collage printmaking technique, where the image is composed from a variety of textured materials glued to a substrate and printed either in an intaglio or relief fashion.” – from EKU.
“In a collagraph, the plate is built up and manipulated by the artist, using a collage-like process which combines materials as diverse as cardboard, fabric, gesso, glue, string, sand, carborundum grit, and found objects. The artist can also draw lines into the gesso before it hardens. As a result, the plate may print as both relief and intaglio. Collagraph prints are usually pulled on a press.” – from Washington Printmakers, a good site on printmaking techniques.
Back in March, I wrote two posts What is a Print? and More on Prints, which give some links to sites about printmaking techniques. Interesting that they did not include the collagraph.
The Dreams series of prints that I have been putting up recently, are all utilizing the collagraph technique, sometimes in combination with other media. I am currently working with collagraphs again, now in combination with inkjet prints – I will show these when they are done. I usually like using matboard as the plate, and with acrylic medium I glue on textures like string, cloth, tissue paper, as well as utilizing the medium’s painterly textures, and pressing in textures using various objects. It’s a very enjoyable and non-toxic process that gives interesting results!
by Marja-Leena Memory/Dreams II
Memory/Dreams II
collagraph 96.5 x 79.5 cm. (38″ x 31″)
Edited Jan.13.2013 to show larger image.