Work on Metal

I have been able to persuade my inkjet printer to put digitally composited images on light weight metal. The whole process has its roots in the great book Digital Art Studio by Karin Schminke, Bonny Pierce Lhotka, and Dorothy Simpson Krause. From their careful instructions, I was able to prepare 12×12 inch aluminum plates capable of receiving inkjet  ink. Naturally you have to have a printer that will accommodate thick media, and — with a little persuasion and a lot of finger-crossing — I got my Epson R2400 to do that. Once the metal plates were printed, I prepared 24×24 inch birch boards upon which to bolt the plates. This involved learning a lot of new things like handling a circular saw, countersinking holes, and general woodworking skills I have successfully avoided up until now.

One of the four new images is Absolutely Red, a digital composite based on a photo of a maple in full October red, standing sentinel at the end of Andy Goldsworthy’s wall at Storm King www.stormking.org. In Photoshop I combined that photograph with another of clouds, a map, a photo of a wall in Tennessee, and some texture from a scan of one of my pastels. Manipulating the various transparencies and colors, I created a new place. Once printed on the metal plate, I will slightly distress the edges so the metal shows.

I will be showing these mixed media wall pieces through the summer and fall at the various art events listed on my schedule. For a preview of the images, just e-mail me at eugenietorgerson@sbcglobal.net

Absolutely Red