Stone lithography
Process, Pain & patience
I joyfully discovered stone lithography while taking a printmaking elective with Michael Houlihan as part of my foundation courses at the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1991. The magical and unforgiving mix of art and scientific discipline appealed to my entire brain. And the many ways lithography can go wrong posed a challenge that I was eager to master (still working on that mastery).
I found graining stones to be meditative. Drawing on them was sublime. The greasy pencils and crayons glided over the tight limestone pores while tusche washes evaporated into delicate pools of gray reticulation. I have gone to press only to pack and go home after realizing a mistake during the first or second etch. I have also thrilled at seeing print after print come up perfectly with deep blacks, rich midtones, and white space without any ink scumming. That’s the holy grail that I seek.
After leaving art school, I no longer had access to a press. A decade later I learned about the Printmaking Center of New Jersey and attended workshops with master printer Stephen McKenzie. When the Printmaking Center became Frontline Arts it no longer offered stone lithography. Another decade later I found a class offered by Devraj Dakoji at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City. For two years I maintained a membership and took advantage of studio hours to work. But commuting to city from Central Jersey was time consuming and expensive, especially when I needed to use up studio hours to create my images.
In 2020 I bought a house with a garage big enough to store the things I love: kayaks, bikes, and a litho press. In 2022 I purchased a Rembrandt Pelican press manufactured by Conrad Machine from Perry Tymeson with Suitcase Press. That fall I printed my first edition from home. I started amassing studio materials including a GIGANTIC flat file with the goal of opening a private shop and offering printmaking instruction. But in 2024 my life drastically changed when I was impacted by a round of corporate layoffs from my marketing job of eleven years. By the spring of 2026 I was preparing to move and donated that flat file to Guttenberg Arts.
Two years later I have adjusted from corporate hustle to life as a marketing consultant and teaching artist. I saw my loss as an opportunity; the old cliche is true. I never would have taken this leap while employed. But when you face a loss that great you have nothing to lose and anything is possible. I decided life was short and it was time to focus on art.
Now my press and I reside in southern New Jersey where I can easily commute to Philadelphia’s vibrant art and printmaking scene. I joined BYO Print in July 2026 and have taken my lithography practice to include experimental and alternative processes. I am thrilled to be back at the graining sink, so to speak, and to offer printmaking workshops in lithography.
