My first experience with printmaking was at at Rhode Island School of Design in 1973. In my engraving class, we spent the first 8 hours sharpening tools, and the second 8 hours polishing plates. I learned that printmaking was very specific-it was about editioning from a metal plate. Period. I quickly lost interest and didn’t think about printmaking again for decades.
Eventually, I discovered monotype, and through that door I became a printmaker. I learned that printmaking processes are magical, and that a print is a mark that is transferred from one surface to another. Period.
In founding Print Day in May 18 years ago, I wanted to celebrate the magic of that transferred mark. Since then, hundreds of thousands of prints have been made on the first Saturday in May. One of my favorites is this one: Penguin footprints from Antarctica.
Prints are everywhere-my horse’s hoofprints, my sister’s lip prints on a margarita glass. Prints leave a history and tell a story,
This year I will be touring the Galapagos Islands the last two weeks of April. Rather than featuring print studios and prints on paper on the PDiM social media posts, I will photograph and post the prints in nature that I encounter on the trip. I encourage everyone to find and post the inadvertent prints you discover in the run up to Print Day in May 2025. And on May 3, post your intentional prints and visit our Sponsor page to discover how to win prizes for your work!
Yours in Print,
Robynn Smith
Blue Mouse Studios, Aptos, CA
Founder, Print Day in May
