The Georgia College & State University Printmaking Studio, “Gas Light Press,” is located in Miller Annex, a creative haven for visual artists providing a supportive atmosphere and cutting-edge technology with specialized equipment. Our commitment to providing students with a comprehensive education is exemplified by the state-of-the-art facilities that comprise our studios.
Within our printmaking area, students work with aluminum plates and on the more traditional matrix of Bavarian limestone with two Takach lithographic presses, renowned for their precision and reliability in producing high-quality prints. These presses, with beds at 33 x 60” and 47 x 96” and crafted with meticulous attention to detail, ensure that students can explore the nuanced art of lithography with the finest equipment available. Additionally, a 22 x 20” photo-litho exposure unit expands the horizons of possibilities for students, offering them a tool to explore photo–lithography and solar plate printing.
For intaglio and relief processes, we house an American French Tool intaglio press, 44 x 70”, and a 25 x 48” Takach press, providing students with a diverse range of options to explore the intricacies of etching, aquatint, and the various other processes unique to intaglio printmaking. The bold and direct nature of woodcut and linocut is also brought to life through these faithful presses under the creative direction of our students.
In the realm of screen printing, our department boasts a 48 x 48” vacuum-topped exposure unit, allowing for exposure of larger-than-average screens for impeccable image reproduction. With over 50 high-mesh screens and a fully equipped darkroom and pressure-wash spray booth, serigraphy (screen printing) is one of our most popular offerings.
Our commitment to versatile and innovative equipment is further underscored by the inclusion of the Seri Glide SG-52120M side arm graphic press. This unit serves as a platform for screen printmaking, allowing students to experiment with different processes and refine their skills under professional-grade conditions.
With a full range of traditional and contemporary tools, methods, and course offerings, and under the guidance of professional master printmaking faculty and guest artists in residence, our program fosters an environment conducive to student learning while also providing the practical experience needed to thrive in the dynamic world of printmaking. It is through this hands-on engagement that our students transform ideas into tangible, expressive works of art, leaving a lasting imprint on the legacy of printmaking at Georgia College & State University.
Printmaking I Class Collaboration (VOTE)—Serigraph
ARTBLANKET
Students from the Department of Art place gift envelopes throughout the campus and greater community every semester. Slipped under doors and into desk seats, hidden inside library books, propped in the crook of a tree limb, or handed to you with a smile, we hope you'll enjoy the artwork, written work, and _________ you find. Look for the envelope and ask no questions...it's free and it's yours.
Printmaking I-IV, ARTBLANKET--Mixed Print Media
The following set of images feature student Laila Campbell pulling a multicolor lithograph in our shop. Laila began by gumming a plate, then pulled the second color. The results are an edition of the two-color state, and a single print showing the completed, three-color image.
Laila Campbell (Class of 2023), Nocturnal 1, Lithograph, 2023
Faculty Mentor: Matthew Forrest
Georgia Southwestern University Undergraduate Humanities Symposium, Fall of 2023
http://letterpressgeorgia.gcdhc.com/blog/us-press-timeline/
A Message from the Undergraduate Student Researchers:
This research project has been a year-long process that began in the Spring 2023 semester with senior art major, Emmaline Wellborn, creating a JS timeline of U.S Press History. By Fall of 2023, two additional senior art majors, Emma Grace Avery and Emma Kate Leach, joined the team to widen the research to “The History of The Letterpress in Georgia”. By broadening the research field, we were able to include topics like: the letterpress and how it has affected literacy rates, the evolution of the letterpress – it’s purpose throughout history vs. its purpose now, letterpress artists and companies in Georgia, as well as non-profit, community-based printmaking organizations focused on the education and preservation of printmaking as an art form. On November 10, 2023, we travelled to Americas, Georgia to present our research at the Georgia Southwestern University Undergraduate Humanities Symposium. Emmaline Wellborn and Emma Grace Avery graduated in December 2023 and passed the torch to Emma Kate Leach who will be continuing on with this research throughout the Spring 2024 semester. She will be presenting this research at MURACE (Mentored Undergraduate Research and Creative Endeavors) at Georgia College and State University next year.
GC Printmaking students Hannah Conti, Maya Whipple, and Amelia Jebram presented their research at the 2022 Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium, Johns Hopkins University
Plate and Stone Lithography, 2021
Faculty Mentor: William Fisher
https://krieger.jhu.edu/ursca/2022/04/09/macksey-symposium-april-9-10/
The Richard Macksey National Undergraduate Humanities Research Symposium provides hundreds of students across all fields of the humanities the opportunity to share their work in the professional presentation style most common to their fields. Attendees also participate in professionalization and recruitment events during the three-day symposium. It's the first conference of its kind: there has been no other national platform for undergraduates in the humanities to share their work.
A Message from the Undergraduate Student Researchers:
‘Shopping* with Senefelder: From Pixels to Limestone in Fine Art Prints
One morning in 1796 a young impoverished Bavarian actor, author, and law student could find no paper but picked up a grease pencil and, as his mother dictated the items of clothing for the wash, scrawled a laundry list directly onto a limestone-topped table. At that moment a revolution began in the production and transmission of mass media, and in the world of Art: lithographic printmaking, Die Steindruck, was born.
Our small team of art students from Georgia College used free word association to decide on the subject matter for a printmaking assignment in hand-drawn color lithography. We each took our word and did a Google image search, quickly decided on a digital image suitable for appropriation, exported it to Photoshop, and saved it as a CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black) image file. We then used a “split channels” function which divided our images into four black-and-white versions of the four colors. These were referred to while we rendered four black crayon drawings, faithful to the tonal values seen in our four ‘shopped printouts, onto lithographic limestones and plates.
Using 18th-century technologies, we assisted each other in processing these hand-drawn lithographs, with the matrices inked and printed in one color atop the next (C, M, Y, or K) to achieve our full-color images. This conflation of analogue and digital technologies was presented through text, oral narration, and imagery tracing our progress from random chance to controlled intentionality, from our subconscious to the volitional, and from our Macs to our drawings on limestone leading to the finished prints on paper.
* A 'shopped image refers to one in which alterations are made through the use of digital technologies and imaging programs such as Photoshop.
Mattie Thompson (Class of 2024), Linocut, 2023
Anna Grace Douberly (Class of 2026), Mixed Media – Linocut, 2023
Hayden Bryant (Class of 2024), Intaglio, 2023
Thomas Heald (Class of 2017), Archival Digital Print on Tyvek, 2017
Guest Artists
Guest artists play a pivotal role in enhancing student engagement and research in printmaking by bringing diverse perspectives, techniques, and experiences into the classroom. Their expertise not only enriches students' learning experiences but also inspires innovation and fosters a deeper understanding of the art form. Through collaborations and workshops, guest artists ignite curiosity, challenge conventional thinking, and contribute to the advancement of printmaking as a vibrant and evolving medium.
Mark Dion (Artist in Residence Print)—Serigraph
James Luna (Artist in Residence Print)--Serigraph/Monotype/Collage