This project builds on the work completed in the previous project by creating another plate to explore surface, shape and line in a considered an abstract manner.
From my previous exploration I had liked the results that were produced from using fabric and torn papers, the ragged edges of both gave an organic texture to the print. I could also see the potential of using a PVA and Carborundum mix as a textured background assuming the correct proportion of both materials with a thin spread.
I’d begun a sketchbook of abstract ideas on a cold icy day on which I’d explored icy puddles along with my chosen researched artists, Wassily Kandinsky, Barbara Rae & Claire Harrigan.
Working with Kandinsky’s inner meaning of colour, I used paper and fabric collage (below) in blue & yellow to represent and interpret the distorted mass of the peaks and troughs of glacial ice, an idea gleened from my work in project 11.
Kandinsky colour theory (https://billydooprint1.home.blog/research-part-4/)
The blue, cold and hard, takes you on a journey into the glacier, while the yellow pushes outward and is soft and warm. The spacial awareness may be due to the positioning of the materials, certainly there is less background space on the yellow example.
A plate of torn fabric pieces and paper was printed as relief and intaglio.
Of the two I prefer the intaglio (RH); as observed in project 11, the print is softer and there is more definition of the fabric weave, threads and torn edges, while the background has been manipulated by the amount of ink that is left behind and gives that seaside, faded, weathered look.
Things I have learnt from this print:
- As my tutor said ‘less is often more’ when it comes to collagraph printing. This plate is fine as a test but is crowded, more space would have allowed for better defintion of paper and fabric edges, but various effects are cleary visible.
- The fabric has a tendancy to fill with ink and becomes difficult to clean.
- Be aware of the fabric weave in intaglio, small holes are difficult to remove ink from and printing can cause a wet blob.
- Fabric frays with printing and cleaning, however this can add to the plate as much as it can take away.
In the previous project (11) I’d tried to work with Carbarundum Powder and PVC and got my mix and spread very wrong. I made a new plate which I cut into with a craft knife and then covered with a thin layer of ‘mix’. On reflection, maybe I should have done this the other way around (cut after applying the mix) then my cuts might have been more visible / defined.
The plate was first inked with a roller in a loose beige mixed colour + extender, then moved around with a rag to try and accent the craft knife cuts and create movement and texture. Another layer of ink (raw umber) was added to the plate, each print was lifted with different amounts of the ink wiped off.
Initially I didn’t like any of these prints, but as they dried and the more I looked at them, the more I came to like them, even though the 2 righthand prints are a bit of a blurry mess, the marks from where the ink has been moved around and removed add a sense of movement. The left hand print has a lot of texture from the carbarundum powder almost as if it would feel like sandpaper to touch.
It was also interesting to see how the different quantity of ink used, along with the wipeing had led to changes in the cream base colour, becoming quite yellow in the middle print; pigments of raw umber?
Note: Rags – Rough surfaces such as those above and sandpaper cause the rags (used to push the ink around) to disintegrate. Care needs to be taken to ensure that bits of these cloths are not left on the plate before printing. Remove with tweezers.
My sketchbook work had moved on into the direction of ‘fire’, influenced by Australian bushfires, but also with some bearing on opposites; ‘yellow / warm’ v ‘blue / cold’.
With these sketches and some influences from the work of Barbara Rae I created a plate that although was abstract took elements from these sketches. Curves of the fireman’s hose, the fireball circle and the burning trees.
The plate is narrow and tall to try and reflect an abstract feeling of fire reaching for the tree tops.
Carborundum paste has been applied as a background texture and then overlaid with frayed and textured fabric strips, sandpaper and broken lolly sticks. Finally string has been added to connect individual elements together.
I made the decision to print in two colours, the reds and yellows of the fire itself, hoping that the two colours would blend to create oranges and golds. Some of the materials used have been placed off the edge of the plate, then trimmed once the glue had dried, to imply a continuation off the page.
The first two prints were taken using a rainbow rolling technique. This I find more difficult than it seems, I am so used to rolling my ink in various directions, but with this method you need discipline; work in one direction only and take care to roller the ink plate in the same place.
The second print (righthand) has more blending of colour, in main because I reinked without cleaning and my ink rolling was going off line.
The paper I am using is Fabriano, the same as the prints in project 11 but it was soaked and then stored in a plastic bag for 24 hours. The paper is evenly damp and feels more settled as a medium, there are some great marks from indentations where little or no ink has been applied to the plate.
I tried to add black ink to my plate, initially to the string, impossible task! re-thinking and returning to my sketches I wiped black ink onto different areas as thoughts of charred and burnt wood. Fire still exudes from the charred textured areas and the blackened string adds a central contrast throughout the print.
I have cleaned the plate and re-inked in blue +extender to see how a looser ink would work.
I chose blue as the opposite to yellow, it reflects the cold reality of what has been left behind, and the green hints at a sign of life to come. Rather than use green ink I have allowed the blue layer to blend with that of the yellow from the previous layer.
This I have found is an advantage of using fabric, to some degree it holds residue from the previous ink layer so with careful thought new colours come through
Extender has meant that there is a far more translucency to the texture showing from the materials that I have used on the plate. For example, wipe marks from the rags, edge lines from the masking tape and the ply twists of the string. There are even a few fingerprints, oops!
This is a ‘ghost’ of the previous print to which I’ve added irdidescent oil pastel in gold and silver. Oddly when wet this addition didn’t add anything to the print, the colours were barely visible. But now dry, the effect can clearly be seen, especially where it had caught on the threads of fabric and the broken lolly sticks.
Notes on my choice of colour: – I chose to work with warm and then as a response, cold colours. My chosen colours are the primary of Red, Yellow and Blue, and it has been an exercise in itself to see how these have blended together to create secondary and tertiary colour, whether by mixing or layering, taking advantage of colour left on the plate after cleaning or simply adding extender to loosen the inks.
Finally, clearing up from my day’s work I chose to again print a couple of the rags that I’d used to remove ink. This was printed over a very ghost print of the above, it’s interesting to see the layers of the original print showing though onto the surface of the fabric layer.
I have thoroughly enjoyed this assignment, searching for materials, creating plates, playing with inks and researching and trying to get to grips with the abstract. My highlight was discovering the different marks, pattern and texture that I could achieve from fabrics, threads and torn papers.
I can see this as something I would like to develop in the future but need also to consider that this development is made alongside exploration of other materials that would work with or in opposition to those above.
Following on from Tutor Feedback I decided to print the plate in sepia and black. The left and middle examples are on Fabriano white paper, but the third (right) is on Stonehenge Steel Grey. This is my prefered print, the grey paper representative of the ash remains on the forest floor and the smokey air, adding another view of the devastion that the fires have left behind.
Pointers:-
- Look to other materials that work with fabrics
- Explore adding other media on top of or with inks. eg: pastels, wax
- Take care to watch for unwanted finger prints
- Soak paper and leave for at least 24 hours in a plastic bag
- Make sure rags are suitable for purpose
- Check weave of fabric for ink build up in intaglio
BILLYDOOPRINT1 