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About the Element
Cadmium is number 48 on the periodic table and its symbol is Cd. It is
a soft, bluish-white transition metal and is relatively rare. It is a
common impurity in zinc and is most often isolated during the product
of that element. Cadmium is used to produce pigments for paint and
plastics. In fact cadmium yellow can still be found today in the aisles
of art supply stores. Cadmium is also used in batteries, as a
stabilizer for plastics, in bearing alloys, and in electroplating. It
is also known to cause cancer.
About the Print
This is a two color
print produced from linoleum blocks, printed on heavy kraft-paper
colored card stock. The linoleum is easier to carve than wood and was
often used in the early days of letterpress printing for illustrations.
I came up with the image of the paintbrush as a means to convey the use
of Cadmium in pigments. After designing the complete print by sketching
a rough idea and then refining it on the computer, I printed it out
then transferred it to the linoleum blocks by tracing it over carbon
paper. After that I carved the blocks with a standard set of linoleum
cutting tools and then was ready to print on the press. The blocks were
printed with oil based inks on a Vandercook proof press which was
originally used to make proofs for newspapers, among other things. The
Vandercook has an automatic inking system where ink is distributed over
the blocks/plates for you, but because of the limited run I inked the
blocks by hand with a brayer before each pass of the press.
About the Printmaker
I have been making
linoleum block prints since about 1999, but I have only in the last few
years discovered the world of letterpress printing and the way that
linoleum blocks have been used in the process. I currently print most
of my work now on a 1964 Vandercook proof press that originally came
from a print shop in Atlanta, GA. My current influences are the works
of Hatch Show Print in Nashville, Yee Haw Industries in Knoxville, and
various other letterpress studios working to carry on the craft today.
Papa Studios
papastudios.blogspot.com
papastudios.etsy.com
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