I'm still here!

Yes, I know, I haven't even managed a once-a-week post since term started, let alone once-or-twice...  I was hit by an unexpected bout of exhaustion last week, I don't think it had anything to do with the start of term, more likely I was fighting off a bug of some sort.  But the timing could have been better!

I am getting back into the swing of things now, and my timetable is a little easier/more flexible this year too.  Although of course the one evening when I am likely to be home late is the one evening when the boys have to eat early - but it's good for them to have to fend for themselves sometimes!

I don't have much to show you yet, have made some plaster moulds but they're not all that exciting!  I've been catching up on various jobs at home today including photographing some bits for listing in my hypsela shop.  There are a couple more of my collagraph prints

and something new, a couple of ACEOs. I was aiming for an 'ancient seaside postcard' look...

They were a development from the design work I did for the collagraph prints - I liked the technique and thought I would experiment further with it.  Although I do love the ACEOs, I think they might work better a bit bigger.  Maybe some 'actual' postcard size ones, or greetings cards?

Prep Work

I think I've mentioned before (once of twice!) that my prints are going into an exhibition this week. A nice feature of this exhibition is that the exhibitors put out their sketchbooks for the visitors to look through.

Now since a lot of my prep work for the prints have been test prints I haven't been working in a book - can't put a book through the press! So I have been collecting together all the bits I have done, the transferred photographs I started with, the charcoal drawings I did, the test prints from the plates that worked and the ones that didn't really, and of course the plates themselves.

And I've bound them together into a book.

Well I haven't actually included all of the test prints because there were so many of them... but a representative selection!

 

I toyed with the idea of adding a little colour here - decided against it.  Although it's something I will probably come back to in the future.

This print was one where I applied the ink with a roller rather than rubbing it on.  It's really surprising how different a print can look just by changing the way the ink is applied.  In the end I didn't use the roller for any of my final prints, it didn't seem to suit the soft landscape look I was after.

And I also mounted (most of) the printing plates and included those too.  Hopefully they won't make peoples fingers all inky - I have cleaned them, but still...

Hanging tomorrow... the exhibition details are here, do pop along if you can!

Work progressing...

Yesterday's plates have turned into prints... at least one of them has.  The other one, I wasn't happy with the effect on one side of the plate and by the time I'd sorted it the good side had got squashed and lost all definition.  Back to the drawing board with that one then...

I printed the one that worked and some I had already made until I ran out of drying space - I think I need a better (cheap) solution than an old 3-legged sweater drying rack!

Work in progress

Busy getting ready to print at the moment... 2 new plates all varnished and ready to go...











... and a stack of lovely soft creamy paper all ready and torn to size.

More Collagraphs

I did manage to snatch a few minutes printing time while the birthday party was going on upstairs on Saturday - kids parties are so much less stressful these days!

The prints from the torn paper plate were OK, I can see potential in the textures, perhaps not in this arrangement.  Although I have only applied the ink with a roller, rubbing it on/off gives a different effect again.

And I definitely need to practise getting the prints straight on the paper - it is so difficult!




But it was the plate with the textured acrylic paint that I really wanted to try out and I wasn't disappointed!






For this print I applied the ink with a roller                    and for this I rubbed the ink on with a cloth

But this one is my absolute favourite, again I applied the ink with the cloth, wiping it off in some areas and leaving other areas darker. This definitely has the feel I am looking for and I shall be making more of these plates.

Test prints

Rest assured I am working on the second part of the textured paper tutorial - just need to organise a couple more photos...

In the meantime I will leave you with some images of collagraph test prints I made the other day...  I made a series of little ACEO sized experimental prints.

These are prints of a dried up weed from one of my garden tubs - quite pleased with these - I might do another with a more interesting background.  I have plenty of weeds!

These are a piece of birch bark I picked up on a walk the other day.

This one is scraps of lace and fabric - not so sure about it, but the black bit really looks like some weird sea creature, so that might be useful at some point.

And this one is one of the printing plates I cut up the other day - I think it looks better now!  I wasn't sure when I printed it but now I've come back to it I do like it.  I need to try it on some proper paper next.

That's all my printing... now I'd better go and sort those photos for the rest of the tutorial!

Printing

I have been a bad blogger, I know. But, lectures have finished, I've had my assessment, and term ends this week so I have no more excuses!

I have been a little distracted by this...

... my very own printing press!

Today I tried it out for the first time with a couple of collagraph plates I made a while ago.  Here is the very first print made on my very own printing press...

... and a few more... just test pieces, I'm not using my expensive paper yet!

I do think I need a bigger and better drying rack though.  This one is a bit limited in size, it is meant for sweaters and for some reason it only has 3 legs now.  But it will have to do for the time being.

So for the next few days I shall mainly be making printing plates!

Collagraph Printing

One of the great things about doing an art degree is that you get to try out lots of techniques not directly related to your core subject.

I have really been enjoying experimenting with collagraph printing.  Having worked so much with textiles I have bags full of lovely little scraps of textured fabric and fibres that I simply cannot bear to throw away, and making collagraph plates has been the perfect opportunity to put some of them to good use.

My plates are simply a small square of thick cardboard onto which I have glued little scraps of texture. Once the glue is dry the plates need to be coated with varnish to seal them - I use shellac because it's nice and thin and dries quickly.

Then it's a matter of experimenting with applying the ink - some plates work better with the ink applied to the high points, some work better with the ink applied all over and then wiped off the high points.  The ink is oil based and rather sticky - quite different from anything I have worked with before.  The paper is soaked, placed on top of the inked up plate and sent through the printing press and you never quite know what will come out the other side.  One of the trickiest things is getting the plate and paper lined up so you don't get a wonky print - I've had to practise that!

Cue lots and lots of photos -a bit repetitive - I hope you don't get bored!

I couldn't resist doing a bit of stitching on this one!  The next one I added some water based colour afterwards.

And I did some not-black ones too - although I wasn't very adventurous with the colour!

One of the other fun things is to put the plate through the press without any ink at all, to emboss it onto the paper.

 

And here it is with just a bit of ink...

I've been back in the print room today, I'm just waiting for a whole new set of prints to dry now...