The surface of a thick piece of Bavarian limestone is ground and polished in preparation for the artist's drawing. The artist draws the image on the limestone surface using wax-based crayons, which contain natural greases. Wherever the crayons mark the stone, it becomes grease loving. The rest of the stone is treated so that it becomes water loving. When the stone is sponged with a thin film of water and rolled with a greasy ink, the ink only sticks to the artist's drawing. Each print must be inked in this manner and pulled through the press to transfer the ink to the paper.
Steve Scheibe works with Craig Cornwall, master printer of Trilobite Workshop.
How does the artist print multiple colors?
The artist must draw a separate image for each color. If there are three colors, there must be three separate drawings. Each drawing is printed in sequence and alignment in different colored ink. The piece of paper must go through the press once for each color or drawing.
