after the monks are gone...... printmaking continues

Dear Printmakers!

First of all thank you to all the students who actively participated in this years prayer flag exchange. The prints are exceptional this year and the monks where also a most wonderful group.

Also special thanks to The Trammell Crow Collection of Asian Art.

We have prayer flags prints on paper in the Sky Gallery. Approximately 25 in total and should be on exhibition for the next two months.

http://www.crowcollection.org/

And to the Mystical Arts of Tibet Tour and the Drepung Monks.... we take our hats off! WOW!

http://www.mysticalartsoftibet.org/

Our monk group was the west group.. their names.. Geshe TSulak Gyatso, Tenzin Tashi, Lobsang Pajor,Yeshi Palden(yapa),Phuntsok Dawe and Geshe Wangden Tashi who said he would send us a traditional woodblock, and last but not least the spokesperson and monk Thupten Tendhar.

please visit the BTWPrint on facebook page for more.

now back to printmaking...

http://www.printmakers.info/index.php

http://www.printeresting.org/

these are two fabulous sites..great research place

(thanks to our alumni Krystal Read)

Now to the this 6 weeks... all students have individual projects that the are working on.

If you are a first time printmaking student you are required to do a reduction print. ( minimum of 4 colors plus white!)

We have a video on u-tube that really explains the process well. Please google reduction printmaking and the site will come up. This printmaker also has different videos of process for intaglio printmaking which is a four part series and takes about a half an hour in total to watch. I highly suggest you check these out on your own time.

Since we only have 2 more weeks till the end of this six weeks you will be graded on your progress on the prints you are individually working on, however full editions will be due before we leave on Christmas break.

Please check out these two websites... great printmakers from all over the world.

I will add them to our links also.

check out the new slide show....

Hope

While researching prayer flags I learned that different items, plants and animals have symbolic meanings in Buddhist culture. With the discovery of the lotus flower I discarded my previous idea involving pineapples, the symbol of hospitality that originated in the United States, and graduated into the Tibetan symbol of purity and spiritual unfoldment. The significance of the lotus comes from its stalks, which rise from muddy waters and blossom once above the surface. My print expresses simply, a person, weak and fallen, being lifted out of a cold, bleak place by a pure soul who has given a helping hand in a kind gesture of peace. The horizontal lines in the background reflect this peace and the lotus stalks spell 'Hope'. Unfortunately a lot of my lines were too thin and disappeared quickly under the thick ink. This was, for the most part, resolved in later prints but I prefer the look of the lines in this one even with the darker arm mistake.

~taylor b

katy wood

my prayer flag is more traditional with a snow lion in the foreground and the tibetan flag in the background.

Om Mani Padme Hum

Jennifer Ng

My inspiration for this was the traditional Tibetan prayer flags. I wanted to have the prayer flag still have the traditional elements of the traditional ones but make it more simple and to have a single image take the place of the Tibetan writing, focusing the viewer and prayer more on abstract scale, allowing for more room for interpretation.

Rachael Davis

The message I wanted to put forth with my prayer flag is "happiness is best when shared", a quote inspired by Chris McCandles' last written words. I chose to depict the quote figuratively and carved a self-portrait of me taking in everything in that society and nature share with me by using my five senses.

Emily Sizemore

"Cherish Your Day" is the name of my print. In this i decided to use the god Ganesha who is mainly known for being the lord of beginnings. Coming out of his mouth are words that say cherish your day. This piece is basically ment to tell people to cherish every day.

Amy Seabolt

In my print I used the sri vasta, which is the tibetan symbol for infinity and I used a tiger because in Tibet it is a symbol of strength and part of the four dignities. so basically, strength forever.

50%

IT IS 3:22
ANY NEW POSTS AFTER THIS IS A 50%

"Grow Your Wings"

By: Macey

I took the concept of a bird being free,

yet being unable to because it does not have wings.

Peacocks can not fly as well, so I incorporated its

tail feathers in the empty space around it.

The feet represent the bird being only able to walk and/or being human,

and the arms around it are answering its prayers -

hoisting the bird up and sprouting its wings.

Depth

'Depth' by Ana Laura J.

Currently I've been working to expand my ideas and techniques in printmaking and wish to incorporate new issues as a printmaker. I plan to use my skills in different ways and grow in different ways as well

BURKA BEAUTY miranda davolt

Okay, so in this print I was inspired by the way that beauty is masked by floor-length burkas in some countries in the middle east, specifically Afghanistan and Pakistan (Taliban-ruled countries). We may never know who's beneath there. Something also intriguing about burkas is that I actually think that they are beautiful, because the colors are often unconventional; like this striking periwinkle color and a kind of pea-soup green color. So here's this sense of beauty that is very typical: roses.... and it clashes with something that I think is beautiful, even though it represents oppression of beauty and femininity and thinking women are just too sensual to bare their eyes or a toe or an ankle. I also think that my belief that even the burka is beautiful, even though I wholly doubt that a woman would willingly choose to mask their ENTIRE body, even their eyes, intensifies a sense that beauty cannot be supressed. And even in a place where it is so widely discouraged, it thrives. Therefore the message to the right of the burka reads, "Let Beauty Thrive." Then beneath that is the Hebrew word for beauty. So voila. Enjoy.

"Lost Memory"

This is based more off of a personal issue of mine,

and is made for more of a specific purpose.

It's lame but--

Lately my grandmother has been losing her memory, and the doctors think she might have Alzhiemer's.

This is a symbol of hope for anyone that is going through the same situation as me and my family.

I really liked Dennis McNett's use of markmaking and I wanted to give something like that a go on this figure's clothing. I'm pleased with the result, however I feel like I could do a much better job if I tried it again in another peice.

-Rachel S.

"Integrity" By Danni Lo-Ro

I used this quote from the Dalai Llama because it conveys a large part of the way i think. It says "We must set an example by our own practice. We must live by the same high standards of integrity we seek to convey in others." I think that this is the most important way to live because if you are not doing and being your best, then you cannot expect any better from the people around you. You must have the self- control, reflection, and judgement to live the life you most want to live.

REACH FOR YOUR DREAMS

REACH FOR YOUR DREAMS

by

Ricky R

This prayer flag is for never giving up on your dreams.

Even when you get tired, don't give up.

If it something that you truly want

then it is worth the wait, worth the time, worth the energy

just to see your dream come to fruition.

SHARE Share share

"Share Share Share"

by Jaquey R.

My positive message is about sharing. In my print we see two different tribesmen from different tribes. They put asside their differences and share their possesions (the iron) which is the message I want to spread around the world. So lets forget our differences and share!

(i know the words are backwards)

Yvonne Anguiano
"All That's Left is Hope"

This print brings rays of sunshine on having hope when all else goes wrong.

My print is a reminder of the things that we lose through growing up, and how important they are. I think people would feel a lot better if they could just play and have fun more often.

James M.

The World's Hourglass

"The World's Hourglass"

My piece is about the time limit set on earth. No one is fully aware of the meaning that the world will eventually end, and we don't know when that will be. Therefore, we are left with the reality that every moment is a gift to be cherished.

-Samantha D.

Evan Beck

"Live Long and Prosper"

i like i guess, what about you?

Love of the Whales

Aline Trejo

So many wars are started from prejudice. If only we learned to love our selves, then we would know how to love
one another. *it wont let me rotate it the right way ... I TRIED EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My piece is based on the motto of a good friend of mine.

This quote is meant to tell you that no matter who based things may seem, live should be enjoyed.

by: Pierce

my print is sending the message of trying to be one with nature instead of harming it.

by: kenya

My piece has the smiling monk asken everyone to smile.

"Peaceable Kingdom"

I was inspired to use animals to portray my message of world peace by "Isaiah 11:6" as well as Edward Hick's painting Peaceable Kingdom. Another influence was Dennis McNett. I looked at many of Dennis McNett's prints before cutting because they helped me capture the texture and form of a wolf's thick coat. I created my own technique when creating the lamb's coat and tried to capture their fluffy consistency. To better emphasize the idea of the wolf and lamb getting along, I made compositional decisions such as correlating them through eye contact and using a circular textural background to tie them together. I strived to create unity between these two usually clashing animals in order to promote the message of world peace.

-Leigh G.

Have a Peaceful Converse-ation

Creating the yin-yang resembling print, "Have a Peaceful Converse-ation" is my way of promoting peace and love throughout the world. It urges people to discuss, share, and accept each other's values without spreading controversy.

-Maisie O.