This lithograph was my last print of the semester, tentatively named Orbus Electronus. It was printed on a large stone that was being used as a pedestal for a chemical cabinet. In its former life it was an inking slab, which Richard kindly counter-etched to remove the chemical stains and residue staining the limestone.
I was going to bring the stone upstairs to the science department, but was discouraged when unable to see anything in the malfunctioning light microscopes available to me. Due to the absence of high-powered electron microscopes, my chemistry professor suggested I do an interpretation of an electron cloud. So this is my artistic rendering.
On the bare stone, I dripped an alcohol-based stick tuche wash over kosher salt to encourage a natural reticulation. Finally, after a number of images done using a similar technique filled in due to a weaker etching solution, I processed the image correctly. This is what a section of the electron cloud looks like with a bit of watercolor applied with a dropper.
