For her Untitled (2.3.

17) screen print, Yazzie

created irregular marks, printed the image,
then after it had dried, created a new image and
superimposed it over the previous layer. This
kind of spontaneous imagery contrasts with the
well-planned processes that most printmaking
demands. Yazzie, who explores her Navajo
heritage in her work, uses an impulsive approach
to express the human condition combined
with an intimate view of her people’s history.
The energetic character of her work projects an
optimistic vision of the future, in contrast to the
past hardships imposed on indigenous people.
Editions
Prints are produced in limited numbers of
identical impressions, called editions. The
printmaker has the ethical responsibility for
making sure that each print is similar enough
to the others so that each person who buys a
print has a high-quality image. When a print is
deemed identical to others in the edition, it is
assigned a number in the production sequence.
For example, a print marked 2/25 is the second
print in an edition of twenty-five. Some
unnumbered prints bear the letters A/P. These
prints, called artist’s proofs, are used by the
printmaker to check the quality of the process
and are not intended to be part of the edition.
Some artist’s proofs are sold as one-of-a-kind
works, rather than as part of an edition, because
variations in the process may produce visually
engaging results. Even though most artists could
create more prints than they do, they usually
decide to print a set number: a limited edition.
The artist afterward destroys the original plates
so it is impossible to make any more copies.
Destroying the plates protects the integrity of
the edition, because no more can be made. It
also limits the number in the edition so that each
print is rarer and therefore more valuable.