An Experiment

Yesterday I tried something new.

In the past, lithography was a method that I had not had an opportunity to practice and had also been somewhat reluctant to try. The use of so many chemicals toxic and hazardous to health had always created a barrier for me in trying this method of printmaking. As lithography depends on the principle of water repelling the oiliness of inks, the stone or plate is specifically prepared to do this using chemical processes.

So yesterday I played around with a lithographic process that is waterless, using silicone instead of water to resist ink. The end result with this process is the same as with traditional lithography without the use of so many chemicals. Waterless lithography was specifically developed as a less toxic method of producing lithographic prints.

Here is an image of the work created.


The plate is prepared and an image is drawn directly onto the plate using water-soluble materials. A very thin layer of silicone is applied and cured. The plate is then washed, dried, inked and printed onto dry paper using a printing press.

I am pleased with this first attempt and plan to experiment some more with this method.

All images Copyright © 2004 - 2010 Rosanna Jurisevic