About the Element
Lanthanum - number 57 on the periodic table of elements, is used in optical glass lenses - eyeglasses, telescopes and cameras being the most common. It is also used in movie lighting and lighter flints. Lanthanum is a silvery white metallic element belonging to group 3 of the periodic table and often considered to be one of the lanthanides. Lanthanum is malleable, ductile, and soft enough to be cut with a knife. Lanthanum was discovered in 1839 by Swedish chemist Carl Gustav Mosander, when he partially decomposed a sample of cerium nitrate by heating and treating the resulting salt with dilute nitric acid. From the resulting solution, he isolated a new rare earth he called lantana. Lanthanum was isolated in relatively pure form in 1923. The word lanthanum comes from the Greek lanthaneis = to lie hidden. Obtained From: monazite, bastnasite

About the Print
Not being the best sketcher in the world, I found a picture of glasses that I liked (these are actually from a photo of Robert F. Kennedy's glasses), took it into photoshop and filtered it down to black and white contrast bits. Then transferred to tracing paper and then onto the wood block. The background pattern is based on Lanthanum Aluminate crystals as seen under an electron microscope. The font for the symbol and atomic number I chose because it reminded me of school room letters.

About the Printmaker
I have been a printmaker for a short time, starting with woodcut in Oct. 2006. But I've had a love for color all my life. At age 2 or 3, I threw a fit because I couldn't have one of each color paint chip in the hardware store. It's been a passion ever since expressing itself in fair isle knitting designs, web design, watercolor painting and now printmaking. -See also: Helium

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Lanthanum
by Jennifer Schmitt

see also: Helium

Symbol: La
Atomic number: 57
Atomic weight: 138.905