Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Part 1: More Preliminary Research - UCA Videos

I watched a series of useful videos in the 'resources' section of the printmaking 1 course on the OCA Student website and made some notes:


https://www.oca-student.com/resource-type/video/printmaking-pt1-introduction-uca-video

Part 1:

  • Use barrier cream or gloves and apron with oil based ink
  • Use ink thinly
  • Copperplate oil can be used to modify ink (thin it)
  • Avoid any dry crusty bits of ink and work ink in figure of eight to loosen it before rolling
  • Listen as well as look at the ink to assess whether it is rolled thin enough
  • Roll slowly to add ink
  • Roll quickly to lift off surface ink
  • 700microns acetate can be used as a plate
  • consider: colour, mark, line, tone, shape, texture, composition, pattern, scale and layer
  • Play about with constancy and thickness of the ink - thicker ink= less control. Thinner ink = more control but less vivid - it is a tradeoff
  • Monoprint = true one-off. Monotype = series of similar prints from she plate or transfer between sheets of paper.

Part 2:

  • Subtractive monoprinting requires more ink on the acetate
  • Remove ink by: wiping, sgrafitto, white spirit (blot after a show time with newsprint), brushes
  • Use masks or stencils to prevent ink transfer to certain areas of the paper
  • To pull print apply pressure all over the back of the paper: pad of cloth, hand, roller, baren
  • Can use combination of additive and subtractive marks in layers on top of each other in different colours
  • The thickness and softness of the paper makes a lot of difference to the resulting print

Part 3:
  • Introduction to papers
  • Newsprint is cheap and thin and very absorbent
  • Cartridge is stiff and has more size which makes it less absorbent- more hydrophobic.
  • Printmaking papers tend to have less size making them softer
  • Examples: Somerset paper, Moulin du Gue, Zerkall and many different Japanese papers in varying colours
  • Thicker paper produces coarser softer marks 
  • Thinner paper stronger marks
  • Consider: texture, pattern, sizing(surface), hardness, softness, thickness and edges 
  • Deckled edges on handmade papers are prized because they show it is an individual handmade sheet.

Part 4:
  • Damping the paper
  • If deckled edge - tear to size rather than cut (use a tearing edge)
  • Soak in bath on both sides
  • Thin cartridge paper just use a sponge to dampen both sides
  • Soaking time depends on the paper type e.g. Moulin du Gue 2-3 minutes others may be up to an hour
  • Hold up to drain then take excess water off both sides with a natural sponge BEFORE blotting so as not to ruin the blotting paper so can be re-used
  • Roll between two sheets of blotting paper with a large roller
  • Paper should feel soft and workable 
  • Important that paper and inked matrix are ready at the same time

Part 5:
  • Direct printing (hand pulling) more responsive to paper type
  • Indirect (with a press) gives a more saturated image and less affected by the teture of the paper
  • Translucent base - add colour to this to make the colour more translucent to allow other colours to show through and mix
  • Adding opaque white blocks out other colours underneath. 
  • Sequence of printing colours affects the end result
  • Playing with pictorial space - the colour you put on last will appear first on the paper
  • Overprinting can result in darkening and greying as colour mixing occurs. Opaque white mixed with colour will come forwards
  • Registration: Just plonk on and hope for the best, cut acetate to same size as the paper and remember which way up, make a registration sheet
  • Can try out colours over each other directly on the paper if experimenting 
  • with experience can learn to use the colour to imply pictorial space.
  • If part doesn't work tear up and ut the bits that do in your sketchbook for future reference/development. 

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