The Notebook

No, this isn't about the love story staring Ryan Gosling--it's about the love of recording your projects! I learned when knitting that I should always keep notes about where I am in the pattern, even when I think I'll be back at it the next day, because there may be a time when I put down a project for an entire year. If you're a knitter, you know I speak the truth.

© 2012 Cathy Savage, Tesla and His Favorite Things, 20 x 20"
intaglio, polymer plate lithography, watercolor pencils, gouache

I'm terrible at editioning. For those of you that aren't printmakers, the edition is how many prints are in the set. In this case, I plan on printing 15 and this was the first print that I pulled, so it's labeled 1/15 at the bottom near my signature. In best practices, editions are pulled all at the same time so they can be evaluated to see which prints are up to snuff and which should be cut up for collages. But since I don't have a staff to print for me, I tend to print a few one day, a few the week after, then stop and move to my next print (editioning is boring), and finish editioning as needed.

When I finished this print the other day and signed it at 15, I knew I needed to jot down notes in case I petered out at number 5. There is nothing worse than forgetting what magic you used when printing the first few. I have a software program (Working Artist) that I use to catalog each print including some of this information, but for the purpose of editioning, this is what I use and keep with me in the studio.

I try to capture type of paper, pressure, ink used, and how I wiped the plate. I'll keep this slip of paper until I've reached 15/15.

What do you use to track this info? Any additional words of wisdom?