Valeria Gasparrini
Artist, illustrator
About
Valeria Gasparrini ( Rome, 1964), was formed thanks to a rich contribution of artistic and literary experiences: classical studies, research in ceramics, painting, fresco, engraving, drawing from life; attended the three-year course of illustration at the IED, and was trained in the graphic engraved at the Stamperia del Tevere , in Rome. Today she works as an artist, as an advertising illustrator and freelance editorial, as a teacher of drawing, visual and illustration at Quasar Design University, the Academy of Fine Arts of L'Aquila ABAQ, the American University in Rome AUR. He draws live in theatrical performances, and realizes performances with stage machines of various nature that builds and animates on stage. As an artist he has participated in personal and collective exhibitions, and passionately dedicates himself to the creation of artist’s books, combining his remarkable illustrative nature with the infinite expressive possibilities of engraving techniques.
He has exhibited in Rome, Milan, Bologna, Faenza, Venice, Paris, Luxembourg, Rothemburg. Some of his works are part of permanent exhibitions, such as the ceramic work "Rain" at the International Museum of ceramics in Faenza, the artist book "How many irreplaceable lives", exhibited at the national library of Luxembourg, and its printed version exhibited at the Casa della Memoria in Rome.
They wrote about here
Daniele Scalise, Loris Schermi, Francesca Tuscano, Michèle Wallenborn, Devin Kovach, Sarah Linford, Gianluca Tedaldi. Valeria Bertesina. For interested people, I am writing to offer the highest recommendation for Valeria Gasparrini who has held two engraving workshops for the Rome Center of Architecture and Culture at Woodbury University which I direct. He guided the students' works, taking them from the initial drawings to the creation of the definitive prints and their possible display in an exhibition. I find her one of the most creatively contagious and inspiring people with whom I have had the opportunity to collaborate. Let me take the liberty of offering a few details regarding his remarkable abilities. To begin with, she is a very competent artist in her field. She is also generous in sharing her experience and does so with great enthusiasm. In the initial phase of the projects he offers numerous approaches, both experimental and conventional, with the aim of giving birth to works of art that can then be created on slabs. In the workshops we used zinc and copper plates, and the results were surprising. It featured field sketching exercises, complex mapping projects, and digital plate file translations. It has provided Woodbury with some of the most powerful and transformative learning experiences students have had in Rome; also in relation to what they do at home. Our students love her and she has been there for them every step of the way, teaching them techniques to achieve their creative goals. It is a magical moment when the students complete the drawings, prepare the plates, ink them working in their studio. And then they print them. This would not have been possible for us without Valeria's expertise. Thank you for the opportunity to offer a great recommendation for Valeria and I would be happy to discuss her merits further should you wish to contact me at my email: paulette.singey@gmail.c
Best regards Paulette Singley Woodbury University professor, Director of the Rome Center for Architecture and Culture
Printing press techniques
The engraving press is a machine that exerts a strong and uniform pressure on the inked matrix and on the overlapping paper sheet. Its purpose is to exert a continuous pressure (the press wheel is turned slowly and without interruption) that allows to transfer the ink from the matrix to the paper.
In chalcographic printing the ink is located in the grooves of the matrix, and the press pressure allows the passage from the groove to the paper. The paper must have been previously wet in order to deform, reach the groove, and come into contact with the ink; for this purpose they stand between the pressure of the press roller and the paper (placed on top of the matrix) one or more felts, to distribute the pressure. In the press at the press you can adjust the roller pressure, the hardness or not of the pressure by adding felt, the speed with which the wheel is turned.
To make more equal prints, you mark on the platform of the press both the position in which to put the matrix inked and the register that tells us where to put the sheet of paper to print.
In typographical printing, on the other hand, ink is distributed on what is in relief of the matrix, not in the groove. Obviously there will be a need for a matrix made for this type of printing, even if the contaminations between different printing modalities and calcographic and typographical matrices often gives very interesting results. The canonical techniques that allow a typographical printing are woodcuts, linocut, frottage, monotype. In the case of printing, the ink passes from the matrix to the contact paper, so it is not necessary to wet the paper. You can then use a variety of cards that are not necessarily printing papers. The pressure of the press is minimal and almost leaves no mark on the paper.
Dry printing is a type of printing where the matrix (preferably a flax or woodcut matrix worked with accentuated reliefs) is printed without ink; the result is a relief print. In this case the paper must be wet and must be of good quality to not tear. To the double felt is added a layer of foam rubber, to “wrap” better with the pressure of the roller all the pads.
Video
Gravure printing
The phases of chalcographic printing:
ink preparation (medium: linseed oil); metal spatula.
Application of the ink on the matrix with a spatula to remove (plastic). It stretches in the four directions, to make sure you have well saturated with ink all the marks.
Removal with the spatula itself of excess ink.
first roughing with the tarlatan. The starched tarlatan gauze allows a first coarse removal of excess ink.
Cleaning of the matrix with paper. The card and telephone directories is an excellent card :). In theory should be used paper “pelure”, paper similar to tissue, thin and semi-transparent.
Cleaning the edges of the slab
Matrix centering on the printing table
preparation of printing paper: wetting and drying.
Paper centering on the printing surface
Printing with the press
The result: the print is still wet and with fresh ink is put either in a dryer, or between two absorbent surfaces protected by a sheet of tissue paper.
The Wood: printing process
Printing process of the work “The Wood”. The final print is the result of the superimposition of four plates engraved with etching and printed in “print log” (that is, one above the other).