Research point
Before you embark on this interesting project, take a look at what others have achieved using a relief collage as a starting point. Trawl through some examples of collographs/collatypes (same thing) online, pick out some favourites and write about them in your learning log.
In her recent work, Hartill has been using blind embossing combined with drawing in ink and graphite as well as blind embossing with watercolour. I really like this direction as it combines my love of printmaking with embellishment of individual works by drawing. I thought I would have a try at this by drawing into a blind embossing of a lino cut that I had done at a recent course. This was in fact much more difficult than it appeared! The blind embossing looked much better before I interfered with it. This would require a lot more practice or maybe different paper.
Before you embark on this interesting project, take a look at what others have achieved using a relief collage as a starting point. Trawl through some examples of collographs/collatypes (same thing) online, pick out some favourites and write about them in your learning log.
Hester Cox
Hester is a British printmaker based in the North of England. I met her through a mutual friend and have attended a workshop run by her at ArtisOn in Masham. The workshop was about drypoint. However, Hester works primarily tin collagraph and so I have been lucky enough to see some of her work in person. It is impressive both in scale and composition and in her control of the medium in creating figurative work.
Hester's work is inspired by the natural world. She lives in a rural location and, as a fell runner, she spends a lot of time out in the wilderness and so has the opportunity to encounter the flora and fauna which feature prominently in her work.
The artist herself says: " My printmaking is informed by my surroundings and wherever I am, I seek out evidence of the natural world that is particular to that location" (1)
Hester's work uses multiple plates, intricate cutting of paper as well as painted textures and found natural objects.
While researching Hester's work I found this video (3) about a collaborative exhibition she was involved in called "Collections". I found this particularly interesting because it chimes with my recent research related to the concept of specimens and the cabinet of curiosities. In particular with the work of Mark Dion which has interested me.
I have made notes on individual works by Hester and the techniques she has used in my sketchbook.
Brenda Hartill
I found this artist's work both on the Printmakers Council Website (4) and in the book 'Printmakers' Secrets' by Anthony Dyson (5) in which she gives quite a detailed description of her working method. I then visited the artist's website (6) in order to explore her work further and I have made notes on some of her individual works in my sketchbook.
Hartill's work is richly textural and mostly abstract. she uses exciting combinations of colours and textural interest and her compositions have a great balance of tonal values.
This artist recommends using 600gsm paper for editioning but 300 for proofing backed with blotting paper (5). She describes in detail how she adheres the material to the board and makes sure it is firmly adhered to the paper by passing it through the press on moderate pressure without inking.
Looking at her work she seems to have used natural found objects such as grasses. She also uses plaster filler, glues, metal paints, carborundum and sand. (5) The carborundum provides rich dark darks in her prints. You can see areas where she has applied pollyfilla (or equivalent) and carved or scratched into it. She also uses chine collé and metal leaf to provide accents. In some of her prints it looks as though she has intaglio inked in one colour (for example orange) and then relief inked over this by rolling over a contrasting colour (blue) - this gives an exciting colour combination.
I am drawn to this work by the exciting combination of textures, bold tonal contrasts and rich colours.
Hartill's work is richly textural and mostly abstract. she uses exciting combinations of colours and textural interest and her compositions have a great balance of tonal values.
This artist recommends using 600gsm paper for editioning but 300 for proofing backed with blotting paper (5). She describes in detail how she adheres the material to the board and makes sure it is firmly adhered to the paper by passing it through the press on moderate pressure without inking.
Looking at her work she seems to have used natural found objects such as grasses. She also uses plaster filler, glues, metal paints, carborundum and sand. (5) The carborundum provides rich dark darks in her prints. You can see areas where she has applied pollyfilla (or equivalent) and carved or scratched into it. She also uses chine collé and metal leaf to provide accents. In some of her prints it looks as though she has intaglio inked in one colour (for example orange) and then relief inked over this by rolling over a contrasting colour (blue) - this gives an exciting colour combination.
I am drawn to this work by the exciting combination of textures, bold tonal contrasts and rich colours.
In her recent work, Hartill has been using blind embossing combined with drawing in ink and graphite as well as blind embossing with watercolour. I really like this direction as it combines my love of printmaking with embellishment of individual works by drawing. I thought I would have a try at this by drawing into a blind embossing of a lino cut that I had done at a recent course. This was in fact much more difficult than it appeared! The blind embossing looked much better before I interfered with it. This would require a lot more practice or maybe different paper.
Sarah Amos
Click here to view the artist's website which also includes some interesting videos of the artist describing her way of working.
I first saw this artist's work in 'Printmaking. A complete guide to materials and processes' by Bill Fick and Beth Grabowski (8) and found more examples of and information about her work by looking at her website.
Amos is an Australian artist living and working in an isolated location in the USA (7).
When I first look at some of her work I thought that some of the forms she used looked organic like amoebae and sunflower seeds. In other places she uses geometric shapes and lines which are more reminiscent of man made forms and architecture. In fact, Amos cites the Australian landscape as one of her major influences as well as being interested in indigenous peoples, their traditions and their visual language. (7) I guess my interpretation of amoebae and seeds reflects my personal interests rather than this artist's intention.
Amos learnt to be a master printmaker producing lithographs for other artists. She says this helped her with her own work because it made her think more clearly about combining elements in layers. (7).
Previously, this artist made her large scale abstract works using plexiglass plates as a base but combining various materials and plates together and printing onto paper. (7) Her recent work is printed onto felt. In one of the videos on her website, she describes the childhood game of 'fuzzy felt' (which I used to adore when I was young). Her current working process has some common ground with this game in that she prints out individual elements on to felt and then pins them and moves them around until she is happy with the composition (4). Some of the appliqué pieces are also padded adding a three- dimensions or sculptural element to her work. She also has drawn elements in the works. In the felt pieces, the drawn elements are created using stitch (7).
I would love to see Sarah Amos's work in real life rather than through a computer screen. I find the scale and ambition of the work inspiring. Some of the pieces are very large indeed, for example 'Five Sepals' seen here in a an exhibition catalogue on the Cynthia -Reeves gallery website (9) measures 167.64 x 195.58 cm. Looking at a photograph of the gallery view of the exhibition gives some idea of scale but is no substitute for seeing the real thing.
I first saw this artist's work in 'Printmaking. A complete guide to materials and processes' by Bill Fick and Beth Grabowski (8) and found more examples of and information about her work by looking at her website.
Amos is an Australian artist living and working in an isolated location in the USA (7).
When I first look at some of her work I thought that some of the forms she used looked organic like amoebae and sunflower seeds. In other places she uses geometric shapes and lines which are more reminiscent of man made forms and architecture. In fact, Amos cites the Australian landscape as one of her major influences as well as being interested in indigenous peoples, their traditions and their visual language. (7) I guess my interpretation of amoebae and seeds reflects my personal interests rather than this artist's intention.
Amos learnt to be a master printmaker producing lithographs for other artists. She says this helped her with her own work because it made her think more clearly about combining elements in layers. (7).
Previously, this artist made her large scale abstract works using plexiglass plates as a base but combining various materials and plates together and printing onto paper. (7) Her recent work is printed onto felt. In one of the videos on her website, she describes the childhood game of 'fuzzy felt' (which I used to adore when I was young). Her current working process has some common ground with this game in that she prints out individual elements on to felt and then pins them and moves them around until she is happy with the composition (4). Some of the appliqué pieces are also padded adding a three- dimensions or sculptural element to her work. She also has drawn elements in the works. In the felt pieces, the drawn elements are created using stitch (7).
I would love to see Sarah Amos's work in real life rather than through a computer screen. I find the scale and ambition of the work inspiring. Some of the pieces are very large indeed, for example 'Five Sepals' seen here in a an exhibition catalogue on the Cynthia -Reeves gallery website (9) measures 167.64 x 195.58 cm. Looking at a photograph of the gallery view of the exhibition gives some idea of scale but is no substitute for seeing the real thing.
Wael A Sabour
Is an Egyptian artist. He describes his working process in 'Printmaking. A complete guide to materials and processes' by Bill Fick and Beth Grabowski (10). I have not been able to find a website for this artist but some of his work is displayed on the Artslant website. (11) I want to look in particular at "Shadows of Democracy" (Collagraph 210 x 280cm, 2005) and "The Wall (Collagraph 240 x 280 cm, 2004). Both of these works are overtly political and, despite their abstraction, are very successful in communicating their messages.
'Shadows of Democracy' is formed of six square collagraph panels. Each panel is filled with rich texture and colour but the shapes and colours are highly symbolic. The black shapes are immediately recognisable as the shapes of aeroplanes and fainter shapes each these, representing their shadows. They look like WWII bombers but the reference is more recent. The ground beneath the the planes is in rich shoes of russet/orange/brown and the texture brings to mind cracked earth or crowded flat rooted dwellings. This brings to mind dry lands in the Middle East and also the phrase 'Scorched Earth' and US foreign policy. The artist says that he wants to highlight, " the hypocrisy of nations that promote democracy while attacking other nations" . I would, therefore say that this work is successful in that it does communicate that to me. It is easy to read the artist's intention here without the work being overt and illustrative.
I tried thinking about how the image might have been achieved. The shapes of the houses/settlements might have been created by small, geometrically shaped pieces of paper or foil to the plate or alternatively by applying holding paste of gesso and then scratching the shapes into this. The black shapes of the planes could be stencilled monoprints over the top. Alternatively, the artist might have applied something textural such as carborundum through a stencil (although I doubt whether this would have created such precise shapes).
In "Printmaking: A complete guide" (8) describes his working process: He says that he always starts with a simple idea. Either something that interests him visually from the natural world or provocative social and political topics. His research includes other artists' work, documentaries - he utilises a wide range of source materials to inspire his work.
He makes several simple sketches and then considers the technique, colours and format of the work. He says he likes the 3-dimensional effect of collagraph and he deliberately creates work on a large format because he wants the viewer to feel directly involved in the action or event depicted, rather than an external spectator.
One point he made which interested me greatly was his assertion that defining the relationship between the technical process and the content is very important. Success depends on the integration of the two. The technical process is just a vehicle that conveys the content , therefore, the content should rule. He says that "happy accidents" such as with textures and forms, should be exploited but without distracting from the central message of the work.
This point, I feel is especially relevant to me right now. I am just starting in printmaking and so struggling to get to grips with new techniques all the time. On discovering a new technique or a way to create a texture, it is tempting to try to mould the subject matter of my work around that new technique or to include too many techniques in one print just to demonstrate what I've learnt. I think that actually, it will show that I have matured somewhat as an artist if I can learn to be selective in trying to convey the subject matter in the simplest way possible. It will be important to keep this in mind when I move forward to part 5 in which I must create hybrid prints using multiple techniques.
In "Printmaking: A complete guide" (8) describes his working process: He says that he always starts with a simple idea. Either something that interests him visually from the natural world or provocative social and political topics. His research includes other artists' work, documentaries - he utilises a wide range of source materials to inspire his work.
He makes several simple sketches and then considers the technique, colours and format of the work. He says he likes the 3-dimensional effect of collagraph and he deliberately creates work on a large format because he wants the viewer to feel directly involved in the action or event depicted, rather than an external spectator.
One point he made which interested me greatly was his assertion that defining the relationship between the technical process and the content is very important. Success depends on the integration of the two. The technical process is just a vehicle that conveys the content , therefore, the content should rule. He says that "happy accidents" such as with textures and forms, should be exploited but without distracting from the central message of the work.
This point, I feel is especially relevant to me right now. I am just starting in printmaking and so struggling to get to grips with new techniques all the time. On discovering a new technique or a way to create a texture, it is tempting to try to mould the subject matter of my work around that new technique or to include too many techniques in one print just to demonstrate what I've learnt. I think that actually, it will show that I have matured somewhat as an artist if I can learn to be selective in trying to convey the subject matter in the simplest way possible. It will be important to keep this in mind when I move forward to part 5 in which I must create hybrid prints using multiple techniques.
Juan Sanchez
Juan Sanchez is Nuyorican. That is he is from a Puerto Rican family but was born in New York. His work is overtly political and concerned with cultural identity. In his artists statement (12) he says he wants: " To search for racial, cultural, social and political definitions rooted in and arising from a hostile environment is a necessity in my creative process. To dig deep into the history of the colonised and the colonisers and to take back what is rightfully ours is part of the process."
Much of his work stems directly from his cultural heritage and it often includes religious imagery such as crosses and angel wings, reminiscent of street corner shrines.
"Rosa" (seen here on the Artsy website) is taken from series of collagraphs about influential people who died young. Rosa Luxembourg was a polish Jew who established a left wing, Marxist, revolutionary movement in Germany during WW1 alongside Karl Liebnecht. (14). After the war, she was assassinated along with Liebnecht because she was considered a threat to the new government.
In Sanchez's print, the star of David as a representation of Judaism seems to either imprison or to protect her it isn't clear which - or maybe it should be read literally that she was a 'star' but that seems rather banal. She seems to me to be surrounded by bubble wrap so I'm inclined towards the view of protection or perhaps the artist is saying that her memory should be preserved. The two draped, lifeless arms below her portrait reflect the double assassination and their layout provides symmetry and calm in contrast to the tension and violence of Rosa's story.
I have looked at, and been inspired by a number of other cola graph artists, in addition to those mentioned here. Below are the links to their websites. However, I cannot devote sufficient time for a long write up on everyone as it is very important that I meet my deadline for this assignment.
Sarah Ross-Thompson - beautiful layers and textured, colourful landscapes
Clare Maria Wood - abstract and constructed collagraphs - wonderful use of texture and multiple colours
Lynn Bailey - combines collagraph, photo-collagraph and drypoint. Has an environmental message
Suzie MacKenzie - inspired by the flora, fauna and landscape (as well as remnants of industry) from the Scottish countryside where she lives.
Sinclair Ashman. I especially like his exploration of fabrics to create simple abstract pieces which suggest movement or figures.
Ruth Barret-Danes. This artist's work inspired me to take a look at the technique of silk aquatint collagraph as I adore the black blacks she is able to achieve with this technique.
Suzie MacKenzie - inspired by the flora, fauna and landscape (as well as remnants of industry) from the Scottish countryside where she lives.
Sinclair Ashman. I especially like his exploration of fabrics to create simple abstract pieces which suggest movement or figures.
Ruth Barret-Danes. This artist's work inspired me to take a look at the technique of silk aquatint collagraph as I adore the black blacks she is able to achieve with this technique.
References:
(1) http://www.hestercox.com
(2) https://vimeo.com/113608758
(3) https://vimeo.com/185126766
(4) https://printmakerscouncil.com/artists/
(5) Dyson, A. (2011). Printmakers' secrets. London: Bloomsbury, pp.72-73.
(6) https://www.brendahartill.com
(7) http://www.sarahamosstudio.com
(8) Fick, B. and Grabowski, B. (2015). Printmaking. A complete guide to materials & process. Rev. ed. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, p.143.
(9) http://www.cynthia-reeves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Amos_Walpole_v1.pdf
(10) Fick, B. and Grabowski, B. (2015). Printmaking. A complete guide to materials & process. Rev. ed. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, p. 152.
(11) https://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/198475-wael-a-sabour?page=1&tab=ARTWORKS
(12) http://www.mapr.org/en/museum/proa/artist/sanchez-juan
(13) https://www.artsy.net/artwork/juan-sanchez-rosa
(14) 10) Fick, B. and Grabowski, B. (2015). Printmaking. A complete guide to materials & process. Rev. ed. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, p. 145
(15) https://www.rossthompsonprints.com/home
(16) https://www.claremariawood.co.uk/printmaking
(17) http://lynnbailey.co.uk/artwork/galleries-2/meadows-landfill
(18) http://www.mackenziefineart.co.uk
(19) https://sinclairashman.com/the-prints-fabric/
(20) http://www.kevishouse.com/ruth-barrett-danes.html
(7) http://www.sarahamosstudio.com
(8) Fick, B. and Grabowski, B. (2015). Printmaking. A complete guide to materials & process. Rev. ed. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, p.143.
(9) http://www.cynthia-reeves.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Amos_Walpole_v1.pdf
(10) Fick, B. and Grabowski, B. (2015). Printmaking. A complete guide to materials & process. Rev. ed. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, p. 152.
(11) https://www.artslant.com/global/artists/show/198475-wael-a-sabour?page=1&tab=ARTWORKS
(12) http://www.mapr.org/en/museum/proa/artist/sanchez-juan
(13) https://www.artsy.net/artwork/juan-sanchez-rosa
(14) 10) Fick, B. and Grabowski, B. (2015). Printmaking. A complete guide to materials & process. Rev. ed. 2nd ed. London: Laurence King, p. 145
(15) https://www.rossthompsonprints.com/home
(16) https://www.claremariawood.co.uk/printmaking
(17) http://lynnbailey.co.uk/artwork/galleries-2/meadows-landfill
(18) http://www.mackenziefineart.co.uk
(19) https://sinclairashman.com/the-prints-fabric/
(20) http://www.kevishouse.com/ruth-barrett-danes.html
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