Old Stone Plates

Hello! my name is Larry McCarty. I publish this blog each week to give You the opportunity to see some of the old stone printing plates that I have collected. These art works were created by the American Indians. Many people are not aware that the indigenous peoples that inhabited the Americas were polished draftsmen and engravers as well. We should remember when viewing these art works that some are very old. Their condition does effect the way that the image prints. Some may even be disturbing to some viewers. I actually started this site to give the advanced degree person access to what I consider to be art worthy of public record.

The true picture

After working on this project for about 35 years, I am growing old! At first it was those big pieces of rock that kept getting hung in my rotary tiller, when I plowed my garden. Later it was the exercise that I needed hiking on the old roads. Do keep in mind that my printing is now hindered by what my Neurologist calls "tremors". I like the effects but, you actually do not get a true picture of the plate. If only we had the hands of the Masters that created the images! They would show us how the work should be done.

Lost art found!

I must admit that each week when I post this blog page, I nearly "Freak right out" when I look at the illustrations that the week has produced! I do keep reminding all that these graphics have not been printed in centuries. They have been lost. Never captured for public record. The minerals that the plates are carved or etched on are so hard that the plate is still printable after 250 years or better! some are much older than that. The impact that this art work had on the European Art Establishment is a well kept secrete until this very day. Do take a close look and make files of what you like!!!

Remember to thank the Indigenous American Artist

Wow isn't Google Great, an Art Museum where You don't have to pay at the door! I get this space for free, that is how I can share these works of Fine Art with you. You can even make your own files and have a large format copy made. I print from week to week, these images have never been shown period. By all means lets remember the Indigenous American Artist that mastered the art of print making so very long ago.

Man's Artistic Achievements

How many faces do You see?

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Look carefully!

In this post I would like to point out that it is often very difficult to see a design the first time that you study the image. There are several hundred prints in the archive of this blog page at the time of this writing. Some are very literal, while others are likewise obscure. Also do keep in mind that there may be a great difference in the age or time period between any two examples. I have no way of determining the age of these art works. The degree of skill is another factor that effects the visibility of any image. My printing is becoming very laborious and as a result is indeed quite poor. All in all you are left with only an approximation of the subject matter that is on the plate.

Here are the new images for this week