Website

Finally, I completed my course portfolio website! I combined two classes into the same website, both Graphic Design I and Computer Applications II. This semester I found myself creating many designs relating to nature, so I incorporated a picture I took on Leech Lake of a sunset for the background image. I still plan on adding work from my other classes to the website, so check back soon for more updates!

Letter Press

The letter press was just as fun as the vandercook press, although reinking the type for every print got annoying real quick! I am very, very pleased with the prints made with the wooden type and letter press. I made a design to represent where I come from in the northern part of the state. There just so happened to be many pictures of fishing and lake scenes, which worked perfect for the design. I incorporated the name of my family's fishing resort, the lake, the bay, the state, and my name into the composition. After printing a few, I took out some blocks that didn't seem necessary. The last prints I did were on a heavier paper that was textured and gave the prints a nice antique feel that works well with the images. Once I started printing, I was on a roll and just keep cranking out the prints!

Final Polymer Plate Prints

Here are the prints made with the vandercook press and polymer plates! A little experimenting with paper and ink had to be done before the final prints were made. I found that the white paper was smoother than the tan paper that was available, so the quality of the print turned out better on the white paper. The first layer was printed in brown, and the second was supposed to be fuchsia. The first attempt at fuchsia turned out a blueberry blue, because there was already blue ink on the roller, and I didn't add enough purple. So we cleaned off the rollers and started with pure purple, but it was too transparent and electric, so I added some brown ink. That did the trick! The final prints turned out very well, although I wasn't expecting the purple to stand out so much in the eyes and mouth. If the brown was darker, almost black, maybe that would have looked better. But it was a very exciting experience; not everyone gets to print with the vandercook press!!