EL PASO Tessellation

Manuel Guerra pulled five EXQUISITE TESSELLATION PRINTS in El Paso on July 15, 2024:

Manuel Guerra in the printmaking studio at UTEP,

where he is the printmaking professor

Inking up the tessellation "hat" linocuts

at UTEP

THE PRINTS

First Tessellation Print

on Kitakata paper

• Henry Morales (Albuquerque)
• Aaron Bass  (Albuquerque)
• Derek Caulfield  (El Paso)
• Julianna Kirwin  (Albuquerque)
• Julie Sola  (Las Vegas, NM)
• Raul Monarrez  (El Paso)
• Adriana Zavala  (El Paso)

Second Tessellation Print

on Kitakata paper

• Mike Kimball  (Santa Fe)
• Virgil Velasco  (Albuquerque)
• Raul Monarrez  (El Paso)
• Julie Sola  (Las Vegas, NM)
• Adriana Zavala  (El Paso)
• Derek Caulfield  (El Paso)
• Gummi Thordarson  (El Paso)

Third Tessellation Print

on Kitakata paper

• Greta Young  (Santa Fe)
• Adriana Zavala  (El Paso)
• Ellie Weadock  (Albuquerque)
• Derek Caulfield (El Paso)
• Gummi Thordarson  (El Paso)
• Barbara Endicott  (Albuquerque)
• Raul Monarrez  (El Paso)

Fourth Tessellation Print

on prehispanic Amate Paper

• Mary Sundstrom (Albuquerque)
• Derek Caulfield  (El Paso)
• Karl Whitaker  (Albuquerque)
• Raul Monarrez  (El Paso)
• Adriana Zavala  (El Paso)
• Gummi Thordarson  (El Paso)
• Ken Romig  (Albuquerque)

Fifth Tessellation Print

on prehispanic Amate Paper

• Raul Monarrez  (El Paso)
• Derek Caulfield  (El Paso)
• Henry Morales  (Albuquerque)
• Adriana Zavala  (El Paso)
• Virgil Velasco  (Albuquerque)
• Ellie Weadock  (Albuquerque)
• Julie Sola  (Las Vegas, NM)

START

We started in Manuel Guerra's studio

We had four "hat" linocuts from El Paso artists:

• Derek Caulfield
• Raul Monarrez
• Adriana Zavala 
• Gummi Thordarson

The four "hat" linocuts

from El Paso artists

Proofs from:

Adriana Zavala

Gummi Thordarson

Raul Monarrez

The MATERIALS

We printed with Speedball Professional Supergraphic Black ink

We used a four inch Takach 60 durometer brayer, which is a bit harder, and therefore prints details better:

We used a four inch Takach

60 durometer brayer

PRINTING

Manny proofed all the linocuts first before making a collaboration print:

Proofs

on newsprint

Then we made a template -- with a drawing for all the tiles -- to be placed under the linocuts:

Hand drawn template

The linocuts

placed over the hand drawn template

Adjusting the inked tiles

Ready to print

The FIRST Tessellation print

We printed on Kitakata paper,

and therefore could easily spoon weak areas

after running it through the press

The SECOND Tessellation Print

The first two prints

side by side

The THIRD Tessellation Print

We then decided to print on colored Amate Paper:

The FOURTH Tessellation Print

on pink Amate Paper

The FIFTH Tessellation Print

on orange Amate Paper

The two colored Amate Paper prints

side by side

Afterwards Manny cleaned the linocuts simply by placing newsprint over them, and then running them through the press a few times.  This took off all the excess ink:

One of the newsprint sheets

after it was used to clean the linocuts

Sometimes the "cleaning" ghost prints

made interesting print in and of themselves

We framed the second print in an 18 x 24 inch poster frame from Hobby Lobby, but I think we have to do better than that:

The print in an 18 x 24 inch poster frame,

without cutting down the paper

MEANWHILE...


"Hat" linocuts are still coming in. Dawn Tello gave us two linocuts in Albuquerque on July 17, 2024:

Two more "hat" linocuts

by Dawn Tello in Albuquerque