Printmaking: Tungsten

Tungsten was discovered by two Spanish brothers, Fausto and Juan Jose de Elhuyar in 1783 by reduction of acidified wolframite with charcoal. Tungsten has had many uses throughout its history. Tungsten was first used in incandescent light bulbs and tubes in x-rays. During World War II, tungsten was heavily involved in political dealings. Because of tungsten’s high melting point, hardness, density, and strengthening of alloys, it was a hot commodity among the axis and allied powers to make weaponry. Tungsten’s etymology is straightforward. The word Tungsten comes from the swedish words “tung” meaning heavy, and “sten” meaning stone.

My imagery derives from tungsten’s etymology. I thought I could create an interesting image by using negative space lettering and texturing.

My process started with decided on a set of images. I created three images and selected one of them. I wanted to refine the image and take it from a 2D sketch to a 2.5D impression drawing. I chose to texture the rock by pressing various objects on the rock and making impressions.

If I were to do my print again, I would refine my lettering a bit. I think it is inconsistent and could’ve been better.

I enjoyed the texturing process the most. Figuring out what objects make the coolest and most effective impressions was enjoyable.