Jason came to Oehme Graphics last Sunday, and with his collagraphs sent from Brooklyn a few days prior to the start of the project, we were able to start printing immediately. Monday felt like we had already been at it a week–by the end of the day, the walls were covered with test prints.
After experimenting with how the plates printed on Monday, Jason made decisions concerning color and how to utilize the inks to bring out the modulation and subtitles in the collagraphs. He realized that watercolor, rather that oil based ink, would be the initial ingredient for setting off the details and water-like scallop shapes in the plates.
The textures and depths that the collagraph plates reveal in the prints are visually stunning. Some sections of the pieces have a three dimensional quality, and look as though parts are bursting off the paper, while other areas seem to continue back infinitely into space. This tension, along with the addition of Jason’s serene color choices, make it difficult to stop gazing at his intricate prints.
Jason was simultaneously working on pieces of vellum to convert into solar plates. He used ink, pieces of tape, and lots of time carefully cutting out shapes to create tonal shifts in the image. The strong Colorado sun was helpful this week, as it picked up all the tiny details Jason worked to distinguish.
On Sunday, a day off for us at Oehme Graphics, Jason and Julia and Julia’s friend who came for a visit, Abby Hoeschler, went “extreme” snowshoeing at Fish Creek Falls. It couldn’t have been a more temperate or beautiful day for it. In the picture above Jason is being extreme (obviously) and climbing to get a better look at the amazing frozen waterfall. The color matched perfectly with the ink color he has been choosing for some of his prints. It has now been dubbed “Fish Creek Falls Green.” It is also impossible to ignore the icy quality in this piece; it was inspiring and surprising to see correlations and premonitions between the snowy climate and Jason’s pieces. (This monoprint was made before the snowshoe adventure!)
Check back soon to see completed pictures of Jason Rohlf’s work and hear more about shop news. Have a great week!