Lithograph Stones, Droid Shots, Minneapolis, Minnesota, March 2015, photos © 2015 by QuoinMonkey. All rights reserved.
lithograph limestone
the way water repels ink
paper covers rock
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I like to draw images for my daily poetry practice from the things that are going on around me. Yesterday we visited the Highpoint Center for Printmaking to see Entwined: New Prints by Julie Buffalohead. Julie collaborated on ten pieces with the printers at Highpoint; several of the editions have sold out. It is a beautiful space. One of the cooperative members working on a large piece of limestone stopped to explain the lithographic process to us. Alois Senefelder invented lithography in 1798 while seeking a less costly method of reproducing copies of his plays. In an attempt to reduce his publications costs, he tried to produce his own copperplate engravings which led to the use of slabs of Bavarian limestone. You can read more at the History of Lithography (LINK).
Making reverse images in copper was a very difficult process, a process that required much time and practice to master. Thus, Senefelder decided to practice his engraving on slabs of Bavarian limestone instead of the costly copper. In the mean time, Senefelder needed a liquid that could be used to correct his frequent mistakes on the genuine copper plates. For this, he found a mixture of wax, soap, lampblack, and rainwater were satisfactory. The two materials, limestone and the “correction fluid” became the primary ingredients of lithography.
By experimenting, Senefelder found that an image drawn onto the limestone with his correction fluid would repel water, while the surface of the stone itself would hold it. He found he could first wet the entire stone then apply ink, with a roller, to the entire stone to replenish the ink on the image. The stone, which held water, repelled the greasy ink; the “correction fluid,” which is greasy and thus repels water, accepted additional ink. The chemical process is known as the Principle of Lithography.
-posted on red Ravine, Sunday, March 29nd, 2015
-Part of a yearly practice to write a short form piece of poetry in a Moleskine journal once a day for the next year. Related to post: haiku 4 (one a day) Meets renga 52
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