Sketchbook Project 2018

Selected spreads from my submission to this year's Sketchbook Project that combine ultra-violet, sketches of the Elgin Marbles in the British Museum, impossible grids, and vintage targets.

This is my 9th year participating!

Noli Turbare Circulos Meos (Do Not Disturb My Circles)
2 color risographs and collage on vintage paper.
16 pages, pamphlet stitched,  7x10 " opened
unique edition 
2018

Reminder...

Sister Corita Kent (1918-1986)

The Heavens are Yours | 1962 | serigraph

word picture: Gift of Tongues | 1955 | serigraph

welcome o life | 1973 | serigraph

tree you are | 1962 | serigraph

SOLW | 1967 | serigraph

In Touch (commission) | 1969 | serigraph

Seasons (4 of 4) | 1978 | serigraph

And Valleys (2 of 4) | 1978 | serigraph

Sister Corita Kent was a Catholic nun, prolific printmaker, arts educator and social activist. She is an artistic hero of mine and I'm currently feeling very inspired by the graphic vibrancy of her work. In particular I'm loving the color palette of red, blue, magenta, and purple.

Friday Inspiration: Purple

Pantone swatches by designer Inka Mathew (instagram.com/tinypmsmatch/)

The word purple comes from the Old English word purpul which derives from the Latin purpura, in turn from the Greek πορφύρα (porphura), name of the Tyrian purple dye manufactured in classical antiquity from a mucus secreted by the spiny dye-murex snail.

The End

The final prints...Ode to Pluto (Part I & II).
Two 10" diameter four color reduction woodblocks. Printed in mauve, magenta, cyan, and indigo. Final edition of 10 on 12x16" handmade paper with 2 artist's proofs.

copyright Kate Castelli 2015

Purple Process

I've been feeling like my circle prints were reaching an end, and that I needed to go out with an ambitious final series. I very rarely print in color, and I very rarely make editions. However reduction prints are so uniquely time consuming (and self destructive) that I felt I needed to do an edition.

The woodblocks are 10" in diameter and are printed in 4 colors. I printed the first layer and then cut away each successive layer to reveal the color underneath. The layers cannot be reprinted, as each new series of marks changes the surface. At first I thought of the marks as gathering clouds or a storm front, but the layers of color now remind me of a small galaxy or the city lights at night.

Purple on the press and purple on my feet...my studio shoes matched the very vibrant layer 2.

Printing in purple

Setting up my printing guides on the press and soaking paper.

Purple color palette.

Inking a plate and pulling a print.

I've been spending a lot of time in the print studio lately. There is a very precise ritual and rhythm to printmaking that I enjoy. I can easily lose myself in the process for several hours.

My printing playlist--

Somebody That I Used to Know / Gotye
The Ghost Inside / Broken Bells
Punching in a Dream / The Naked and Famous
Walking with a Ghost / Tegan and Sara
Too Much / Sufjan Stevens
Santa Fe / Beirut
Heartbeats / José González
Because the Night / Patti Smith
Can't You Hear Me Knocking / The Rolling Stones