Potato Prints: A How-to Guide

From time to time people ask how I make the sorts of cards I've been sending around at this time of year for the past twenty years or so. I made a bunch of potato poinsettias today, and Maureen took two pictures. I will attach those now, and provide tips on how to make a great potato print.

Lay out a section or two of a real newspaper. Not the electronic ones--they really, really will not work so well.

Preferably, make it a prestigious newspaper--the New York Times is ideal. (Look carefully, and you'll notice that the Sunday NY Times Business section is spread out here.)

Drink some beer. This is not essential, but it definitely makes the next step go more smoothly. In the photograph below, note the pint glass of beer, no longer full, partially hidden behind my hand.

Cut the potato, following some design you've figured out beforehand. (If you have a partner, ask them what might work well for a potato print design; this year, Maureen tactfully steered me away from trying to capture Seattle's Smith Tower in potato form.)

Apply paint to the potato. This year it was deep cadmium red plus alizarin, with a splash of regular cadmium red. Combining those colors is evidently how God makes poinsettias.

Press potato onto the pieces of paper that you've folded beforehand, ready for the aforementioned wet potato.

Revove potato from paper.

Repeat.

Use only russet poatoes. Russet potatoes are pretty crappy to eat, but they sell a lot of them in stores, no doubt because they're so good for making potato prints.

The cut-out parts of the potato will start to deteriorate and fall apart after about 50 impressions. All great print-makers face this problem; throw the potato away when you reach this point.

Buy stamps. Support your local post office.

Write messages to your friends on the cards, and send them. (The potato cards, not the friends.)

Repeat yearly.