Demonstration at WYPW: Cath Brooke

On 6th December I attended a 'Printmaker's Toolkit Session' at West Yorkshire Print Workshop hosted by Cath Brooke whose work I had first seen at Leeds Print Fair. This was a two hour session in which Cath demonstrated and talked about some of the techniques she uses in her printmaking and allowed us to look through some of her prints as well as her sketchbooks. 

Currently, Cath is working mainly on the theme of industrial landscapes. She does a lot of her sketching around Redcar and Teeside which is where I lived throughout most of my childhood and my teenage years. Her work makes me feel nostalgic - not only because it reminds me of the landscape of my youth but also because much of the industrial landscape around there no longer has a function - much of the industry has been closed down. 

Cath uses a combination of drypoint, chine collé and monoprint in her work. Her sketches are mainly made on site and many of them are made in charcoal. 

Cath completes the drypoint (and chine collé if using) layer first and the responds to this with the monoprint aspect on top. The chine collé has to go on the first layer otherwise it will not stick over the oil based ink. 

Here are the notes I took on the day: 

• Sandpaper can be used to create a light all over tone in drypoint
• Cath uses soaked Fabriano Rosalpina paper
• As the paper dries out it can start to shrink which affects registration when printing multiple layers
• Keep it moist by layering between wet newsprint or keeping a pile of dampened paper in a plastic bag which is closed between retrievals
• Can rework it if dried too much as the oil based ink should stay put
• Paper should be damp and malleable but without too much surface water which will resist the oil based ink
• Cath uses Hawthorn stay open ink 
• Use a pad made of scrum taped up like a dabber to apply the ink - really work it into the grooves - can also use plastic or rubber to scrape the ink across
• Wiping the plate - start with gentle circular motion with softened scrim
• Hold plate up to the light to see the image developing-difficult to see when flat on the surface
• Use a piece of newsprint folded over to hold the plate at this stage to stop fingerprints appearing - afterwards handle the plate by the edges
• Varying the inking of the plate can make a great deal of difference to the appearance of the final print.
• Wipe some areas very clean with a soft cloth (bits of old tee shirt)
• Other areas can have a thin layer of ink rolled back over them. 
• She places the plate on the paper than holds it in place to flip it over for printing - repeats this process with the second layer to help get good registration. 
• Traces the key elements of the design onto a second plate (using permanent marker) which she then flips over to ink for the monoprint on the other side. 

Drypoint print, plate and second plate of the same size with key elements
of the design traced ready for the monoprint layer

• A small amount of linseed oil reducing jelly is mixed with the Hawthorn 'stay open' ink for the monoprint layer - this makes wiping much easier
• For the chine collé Cath uses inexpensive rolls of Chinese paper which are a bit stronger than normal tissue paper. 
• To create texture she uses textures placed under the paper and rolls printing ink over the surface - a bit like frottage but using printing ink
• Any textured surface could be used but textured wallpapers work well and free samples can be obtained from DIY stores
• Cath uses acid free permanent photo mount spray for her chine collé - this does produce fumes so care must be taken when using it but is less tricky and variable than using PVA or starch paste

Overall this was a good learning experience - I had no experience of drypoint or chine collé before this demonstration and I came away with lots of ideas. Cath was very generous with her time and gave a clear explanation of the process. I have booked to attend a day course with her at WYPW in March and am looking forward to it.