Seeing the Wood for the Trees - Winter Theme - Session Three

During this session the group used a portable printing press to produce a series of prints using the collograph plates they had prepared from the last couple of sessions.

Following a demonstration by Carole, we (yes, me included) inked up our plates then wiped them down removing as much ink as we could but leaving enough so that there would be an impression on the paper at printing time.

This isn't as easy as it looks, although there were some in the group that took to it like a ducks to water. "You just add some colour and wipe it off", came one comment. Mmm my colour sort of squigged together and there didn't seem to be any definition apart from purple.

Once the ink had been applied then rubbed back the time came to lay out the plates on the press. It was here that a little thought was need to the layout as these prints would serve to be pages in our Winter themed books.

Next came the rolling of the printing press.  We were taught to do a number of runs through the press, the first being too heavy on the ink, the subsequent ones being lighter but more successful in showing the lines and marks that had been added in the first two weeks of preparation.

Here's just one of the prints that was created.  If you would like to see more from the session please visit here.  And whilst all this printerly activity was going on, Phiona was in and out of the kitchen making cups of tea and coffee to keep us replenished. This was balanced with a range of snacks organised by Carole.

A job well done, by everyone I think.  Next week they'll be taking their prints along with other ideas and making them into books.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees - Winter Theme - Session Two

In this session the group continued with their collograph plates.

To get us all started I made a cuppa for everyone and re-filled during the session. This was accompanied by protein balls, to keep our strength up and cheese and crackers.

We had been shown by Carole how to create our plates from our own drawings.  Having a range of  depths and textures would be the key to having interesting results when we use our plates for printing off at the next session.

Carole encouraged us all to make 3 to 4 plates, keeping in our theme of winter.

Once completed we had the option to add a little PVA glue in places for additional interest or go straight onto sealing our plate with a shellac solution.

Here's a couple of mine drying and ready for next week's printmaking session.

Until next week......







This project has been kindly funded by the KHL Big Local and overseen by the Northampton Community Fund.

Seeing the Wood for the Trees - Winter Theme - Session One

Well, what with all the dreadful weather over the past month, taking a walk through Kingwood woods was totally out of the question.  So instead Carole and I decided to use the first session for creativity.  On the menu was collographs, run by Carole and she certainly didn't disappoint.  She brought a selection of examples so the group could understand a little bit about the process. It really is amazing what wonderful results can be achieved with this print technique.  Here's an example of one of Carole's collograph printing plates. I chose this image as it seems rather apt as we are heading towards Valentine's Day.

Following a quick demonstration by Carole, we were all give a piece of mount board, a pencil and a cutting blade.  The pencil to draw out our design, a blade to either score the surface or cut and lift layers from the board.  Here's my design, a barren tree in the moonlight,  (although I was only about halfway through my cutting out) I managed to cut away half the moon by mistake.  Ah well we live and learn.

Wandering around the room, it was lovely to see everyone fully engaged. One of the group commented on how relaxing she found the process was.

As usual, the two hours of creativity flew by.  Next week we will continue to prepare plates for printing.  Until our next cuppa.......