Printmaking Unleashed: More Than 50 Techniques for Expressive Mark Making

by Traci Bautista

Unleash your inner artist and join Traci Bautista as she shares inventive ideas for making marks with handmade tools, nontraditional materials and simple DIY printmaking techniques. Pulsing with exploration and whimsy, Printmaking Unleashed features 60+ step-by-step demonstrations and countless possibilities for creating original prints, fabrics, art journal pages, mixed-media collage, and so much more. WHAT'S INSIDE... Flip through the pages and learn how anything with interesting texture or shape (rubber bands, vintage lace, the bottom of a bottle) can be incorporated into printmaking for exciting, unique effects. You will never look at a toothpick, freezer bag or plastic zip tie in the same way again!

Genres: Art, Nonfiction

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2014

Reviews

[Ginger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of inspiration. I feel like those who rated it low didn’t realize the purpose is to give you a springboard, not to show you how to recreate a look.

I checked mine out from the library and think I
May buy a copy because trying all the different techniques could take years.

[Qistina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the projects were very inspiring, while some fell flat. There were a few examples where the prints came out so muddy I'm not sure why they even included them in the book.

I really liked the last section of the book where the author showcased her studio, her journals and such. A few of the instructions were oddly phrased, like "doodle quotes about nature, flowers and bees."

However, what drove me crazy was the haphazard layout of the book. I understand that it is done to make it look like a scrapbook, but it was incredibly hard to navigate. There are other publications that have a similar design aesthetic that do not sacrifice legibility, like Rookie Yearbook and IdN magazine.

Also the author's website was printed at the bottom of every two pages. After 20 pages I learnt to tune it out. I have no idea what her website is.

[Steph Myers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure if I just don't like the artist's aesthetic or if the presentation of the material is too cluttered, but I did not like the way this book was put together. Totally a personal thing. If I were an art teacher, it might be a different story, because it does go step by step on many techniques. It's up to the reader to create their own interesting way of applying the techniques to projects. I guess I rely on my books for some inspiration without realizing it.

[Samantha McGuire Mirror Bridge Jewelry) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite printmaking/art journaling books of all time I think. It gives a lot of ideas for making mixed media cards, art journaling, painting, etc. It includes lots of different patterns and has lots of colorful examples of art. It is one demo book I would recommend to people for sure..

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good ideas for using found objects for printing, but overall her style is too "messy" and muddy for me.