I am a printmaker. I do the art of printmaking, which is an artistic process that transfers images or words from a matrix onto another surface, usually paper. There are many established printmaking techniques to do this, including linocut, woodcut, etching, engraving, lithography, and screenprinting; but pretty much anything goes so long as the basic definition of ink being transferred from one surface to another is being appled. Stamping, for example, is a type of printmaking. If you dip your hand in paint and slap it onto a wall to leave a handprint, then even that is making a print (and it may be considered illegal graffiti, so only do this with permission).
History of Printmaking... I'll be brief
Printmaking has been around for a very, very long time. Some of the first prints are those handprints on the walls of caves and canyons put there by ancient printmakers. Printmaking in recorded history got started over 2000 years ago. Authorities argue about who, where, and when, but the consensus seems to be that woodcut prints on silk were first made in China, and then on paper a few centuries later.
Printmaking may have been invented out of the search for a more efficient method of art reproduction. Maybe an enterprising Chinese artisan who inked patterns on silk by brush wanted a way to produce identical pieces faster, carved the pattern into a block of wood, applied the ink to the block, and stamped the pattern on silk.
The earliest known examples of printmaking were images, so art was the product; but a historically and culturally important use for printmaking started to appear in the 11th century - communication. Printing words on paper for the dissemination of knowledge. It was the Chinese, again, who first came up with moveable type, making it possible to mass-produce books... or maybe just messages.
I like to think that printing presses were the first instances of technology replacing jobs. Maybe the local leader needed to get a message out to everyone in the city as quickly as possible. Before the printing press that message had to be copied by hand, and to make many quickly there had to be a lot of hands... an old world typing pool with brushes and ink. A press would allow a few people to print the messages just as quickly, and (importantly) with no mistakes. Imagine the inconsistencies you might find in hundreds of hand-copied messages by dozens of different people.
Printing presses made it into Europe in the 15th century, most famously popularized by Johannes Gutenberg in 1450 with the printing of the Gutenberg Bible. Legend suggests that pasta made it from China to Europe in the two centuries earlier, which suggests that food was more interesting to early traders than books or art. (There are now records of pasta or pasta-like foods in Europe much earlier than Marco Polo.)
I digress... Woodcut was also the first form of printmaking in Europe, also in the 15th century, which suggests that the art appeared about the same time as the printing press. Progression in printing art was fast, however, with the first metal engraving prints (intaglio) appearing by the end of the 15th century. Sometime during the 16th century the first printmaking masters emerged and greatly expanded the breadth of techniques, matrices, and subjects being printed.
Why did printmaking art flourish so quickly? Probably money. A painter could create a landscape and sell it once. A printmaker could make a landscape and sell it hundreds of times. Art became something attainable for lower cost by more people. I wonder in there were 17th century art galleries in the great European centers of art, and if they took a 30% commission.
Why Printmaking?... a more personal perspective
I am starting to accept that I have been a closet artist for most of my life. I have enjoyed looking at art for as long as I can remember. I enjoyed making art as a child. I am not sure what happened during those very important teen years, but my education and interests swayed more to nature, science, and the outdoors than an art studio. I took one art class in high school... Art for Seniors (loved it). I took the required 'Art Appreciation' course in college (meh).
I also took photography classes in high school and college. I am old enough to have learned the use of a photography dark room, which I have come to realize is a type of printmaking. The purists may disagree with me, but we do call the product 'photo prints'. Think about it... A negative goes into an enlarger for light to pass through on its way to special paper that will will react to contact by the light. If we transfer that photo onto the surface of wood (actually possible), carve out the lighter portions, apply ink to whats left, and stamp it onto paper, the result is a print that looks like the photo. These are the musings that fuel my insomnia...
After college I was not able to afford photography as a hobby. No, that's an excuse. I started keeping aquariums, which is why I could not afford photography as a hobby. The rise of digital photography made it possible for me to start shooting pictures again, which I have done for decades. Printmaking is much more recent for me, but I believe that a strong foundation in photography helps me in printmaking, specifically in subject, composition, and artistry.
Why printmaking instead of just sticking to photography? Because I find the whole process of printmaking fascinating. I want to learn to do it all. Currently I practice relief printing from carved linoleum, vinyl, and wood. I also make monotype prints from ink applied to glass or plastic. Someday I will get a crack at lithography, intaglio, screen printing, and as many of the other forms of printmaking as I can. I will describe the specific techniques and some of my projects in this blog.
Today I am going honor the pioneers in printmaking by inking up my hand and leaving a print somewhere. Maybe on the palm tree in the back yard. Get it... palm print... palm tree.
Sorry...