Littleton Studios
Spruce Pine, N.C., 1998

"heARTland"
A Portfolio of Digigraphy/ Vitreography

Pioneered by glass artist Harvey K. Littleton in 1974, vitreography, prints from a glass matrix, has been the focus of Littleton Studios since 1981. In May 1998, Karin Schminke, Bonny Lhotka and Dorothy Simpson Krause spent two weeks working with the Littleton staff and Judith O'Rourke, Master Printer, to integrate their new digital capabilities with vitreographic printmaking. They produced a portfolio of nine 24"x 30" prints which were published by Litttleton Studio in an edition of 30.

Using the 3M Cactus rip on the Encad Novajet Pro, digital images were printed in reverse on Encad's clear film using pigmented Graphic Outdoor (GO) inks. They were then transferred to damp Rives BFK to create a digigraph as the first step in the printing process. Planographic vitreographs were made using a stencil of silicone over water soluble drawing materials. After the silicone was cured and the drawing washed out, the plates were rolled up and printed like traditional lithographs but without water. Intaglio vitreographs were achieved by sandblasting the unprotected surface of a plate masked with litho ink, glue or adhered materials. Frosting, etching with hydrofluoric acid, and grinding with diamond tip tools or other hard points or wheels were also used.