pulling the print

Today was my last day of printing, before Holiday Open Studios begins. I finished up some etchings, I had the last day two days to print, and I finished 4 on my short day, and 6 on my second day, which is usually 9 to ten hours long. Now dear reader , you maybe be thinking, that's not really that many, but these are multiple plate prints, each print has 3 plates, providing 3 different colors, that add tone and dimension to each print, so three multiplied by 10 is 30,

I have the bicep, to prove for all my wiping, and printing,and turning the wheel on the press. thinking of it as a creative way to work your arm out, unfortunately it's only one arm. So with one arm, I'm like this buff 40 something year old woman, but the left arm I'm a flabby armed 40 something year old.

There was something to that theory, of having a better side. Isn't that what Barbara Streisand does, she presents her better side to the camera. She will be photographed from only one side, I wonder if I am that self aware?

So back to my stiffening up right bicep,I haven't printed like that in a while, my tricep will be paining me, just as much as my little rotator cuff will, groan a little, it protest in what i did.
It's called pulling the print , for a reason. Often printmakers are just as attracted, by all the physical steps one has to do, to put the print on paper. We like the feel of palm wiping, we like tearing paper, soaking it.
It thrills us to our knees, to crank a tight press, to pull every inked line out of that plate of copper.
We like mixing inks, the consistency of how it feels, and it's smell, it's all a good thing, it definitely is. How we apply the inks , is a whole 'nother process, that includes, carding ink, or rolling it out, over and over repeatedly.

Printing definitely is a marriage of physical activity, and creative ability.
A perfect match if you ask me.