Two prints by Lesley Dill featured in the recent post by Curator of Prints Kristin Spangenberg are now on view in Gallery 150. While preparing the prints for framing, I had the opportunity to examine them closely and photograph details that reveal the artist’s creative use of materials. The publisher, Tandem Press at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, provided detailed documentation about how the prints were produced. Without this information it would be difficult to accurately identify the techniques and materials of each print. The artist presented her design to the press and collaborated with three master printers to select papers, ink colors, and printing techniques.

In Lest the Blaze Should Torch my Hand: Heavenly Mother Ann Lee the master printers screen-printed leaves and roots onto Rives BFK paper. They then screen-printed and relief-printed the design onto Japanese Sekishu paper which was used to create the dress and banners. After completing the printing process, the printers again consulted with the artist on how to assemble the collage. The translucent quality of the Japanese paper allows the printed design below to show through. Though the paper appears delicate, it is sturdy enough to hold up under the pressure of printing and folding. The photos show the pleats that give the print a three-dimensional quality. The photos also show printed areas visible through the paper. The shimmery leaves and line at the bottom of the design are collaged colored silver leaf. Threads pierce the Rives paper at the top corners and hang down the sides.

Sojourner Truth: Orator, Abolitionist, Feminist is similarly complex. At first glance the work looks like a simple blue and white print, but Dill’s conception included a layered design constructed of three different types of paper. Arches 88 paper was relief-printed to form a solid layer of blue ink. Sekishu paper was screen-printed with dark lines. The printers then screen printed the white letters on Japanese gampi paper. What is most amazing to me about this print is that the blue figure was printed on kozo paper, cut out and collaged onto the gampi. With the three papers stacked, the dark lines on the Sekishu appear as shadows behind the top layer of gampi paper.  The blue ink on the Arches paper slightly alters the appearance of the translucent Japanese papers. Threads stitched through the two layers of Japanese paper at the top corners hang down the sides of the print.

Neither of these prints is unique; the artists at Tandem Press created multiple impressions of each one. When you come to the museum to see these prints in person, take time to appreciate not just the messages they convey but also the amount of work that went into producing them.