Matted Print -- Zivia Brown (WIP)
- What would you do differently if you did this print a second time?
- What part of the project did you enjoy the most? Describe the step and what you liked so much about it.
The element used for my print project was Arsenic, with the atomic number of 33 and an atomic mass of 74.9216 g.mol-1 . This element has been mined since ancient times, but was officially discovered by Albertus Magnus in 1250 A.D. when he was experimenting with a heated soap and orpiment mixture. Arsenic has a wide variety of uses. It is commonly used in rat and insect poison, but has also been used as a medicine and additive to poultry food to protect against infection. Arsenic is also used in semiconductors, bronzing, hardening shot, making glass and preserving wood. You can also find Arsenic is chemical compounds such as arsenic trioxide, sodium arsenite, arsenic trichloride, arsenic pentoxide, arsenic acid, and arsenates. It's a pretty useful element!
For my image, I decided to focus on Arsenic's use in rat poison. This may sound weird, but being a lover of the movie Watership Down, I am was intrigued by the way animals, namely rodents and rabbit, reacted as they died. This image has elements of that movies art style and key attributes, such as the focus on the mouth and chin from the underside with the eyes barely visible. I had other designs, such as one involving soap and one with LED lights, but this one was my favorite.
As for my process, there were many steps. After I had my lineart for my picture, I then had to decide what would be the positive and what would be the negative space. I then used a sharpie to fill in what would be my negative space (this space acted as positive space at some points). After this, I traced and transferred just the outlines of my image to a piece of tracing paper. I then flipped the paper over so the letters and numbers were backwards, and used a pencil to press through the lines on the paper and onto a foam base. This would serve as my printing plate. I would then roll ink on the plate and press it onto paper, flip it over, and use a wooden spoon to press it down. This transferred my image right side up, and then I was done!
If I were to redo anything about my project, I think I would make the atomic number more clear and straighter. There is to much slanting in my image with both the
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