21/2/2011 It All Began In A Print Studio

Right lets have a look back on today shall we. A long successful and experimentation day in the studio. Woke up pretty early, bread was moldy so that bacon sandwich i planned went out the window. Anyway turned up at the studio 5 minutes early and the keen printers were already there with their first class passes to screen printing, which is a little bit annoying as i wanted to try this technique as one of my ideas was based around clothing but to be fair it wasn't the strongest idea.


So after this set back it was plan B. Caroline told me that plate was available and that Graham would give me a few pointers and help me throughout the day. I popped over to the wood workshop to get some acrylic plastic to etch into as a practice, couldn't be dealing with that card from last time. No plastic so i managed to get some scrap pieces of metal from Graham and i etched away. Annoyingly i didn't really have an idea to start from. I have moved away from patterns and furniture as i feel its not original enough. But i may still play around with it in my development work. As i was working from my research i came up with the idea of Ancient, derelict, old, beautiful buildings from across the globe mainly in extreme locations like Japanese mountains, Africa or the Himalayas. This is something i can work for and research for next time i'm in the print studio. Enough bla bla bla, lets have a look at some prints i did today.....

Sadly the scanner hasn't done these prints any justice. I worked from a photo just getting used to working on plate again and using the tools. I was a bit rusty so a lot of my lines aren't very smooth. I didn't really know where i was going with the print so i made it very rough and simple. I tried using some tonal areas on the first one which worked okay but with practice can only get better. One of the main problems today was that i wasn't getting the ink into the lines enough and i was rubbing the ink away to much so the prints came out very faint. I need to spend more time inking up the plate and perfecting this skill.

I had a bit more time in the afternoon to try out a few more techniques and i was introduced to the Dremel!! This baby hasn't been used by any student in 3 years and its brand new, i don't know why not, it's so much fun. The little power tool comes with a verity of different heads which make some interesting marks onto plate. It was fun playing around with it and extremely hard to control at first. Plus the noise level was deafening, it sounded like a dentist drilling into someone's teeth constantly. I slowly got used to the tool and will definitely be using it again. Working with the Dremel and the etching tools were completely different. I can see myself mixing mediums to get different effects. 

Below is my experimentation print with the Dremel.

Final print of the day, it was getting late but i wanted to bust out a satisfactory, dremel print to make my day productive. The scan hasn't worked very well but the textures look amazing and the plate it's self looks and feels awesome. I'm so tempted to do something with the plates because i dont want to waste them as they can look better than the prints at times. Once i'm a bit more skilled with the ink my prints will look a lot better but i'm looking forward to my next plate sessions and my new idea. 

First Day in Print Studio 07/02/11

An intriguing and productive day you'll be pleased to know. Got to the studio nice and early and Caroline gave us a cheeky in-depth and detailed tour of the print room, probably lasting about 1 minute. The print room had a good vibe about it, previous print rooms i have worked in have been small and cramped. We started with a bit of etching, annoyingly it was just on etching onto card, no plates or plastic. I'm already pretty skilled and educated in etching as i have studied it a lot in the past.


I found it difficult to work from my observational drawings and a lack of research meant i couldn't get a good idea of what i wanted to etch. The print room has no internet and nothing to really get inspiration from. This means i need to bring a lot more research to the print room to work from. I need to add to and develop my drawings and gather some second research to work from whilst i am in the print room on mondays. This will be my homework for this week. Hopefully i can get to the V & A museum but i have a very busy week, with work and deadlines in our other projects.


Throughout the day i did a lot of simple and small etchings just getting used to it all again. I didn't really enjoy working on the paper but it was understandable because materials can get expensive when you are learning and experimenting. I love etching so i may take it further once my idea develops but i am keen to learn new techniques. Some off my work i scanned in is presented beautifully below......

I had a little one to one with Caroline letting her know i was keen to base my project around patterns and furniture. She mentioned that i should look harder when i'm doing my observational drawings like patterns on my clothes, bed covers or wood grains etc and for the roadside look at fences and pavements. All very understandable which i shall complete in my sketchbook for next week. She also explained the brief a little bit more which means i can really crack on with this project and start developing my ideas. 

Monday has been a gooden!

Dr Leo De Freitas Lecture 26/01/11

Sir Leo gave us a lecture on printmaking the other wednesday, i have been meaning to update my blog with my notes from his lecture, when i say notes i mean artist names and images. So here goes...


Jonny Hannah. Loving his work, especially his use of text within his prints. 

William Nicholson. I'm liking the colours in this print and the it has a very old antique feel to it. Again the text is very inviting but so simple. 

Frans masereel. Leo can never remember this guys name, he gets very confused over the spelling. Masereel works a lot in black and white and his style reminds me of Otto Dix. It's doesn't really appeal to me but i love the atmosphere he creates. 

Hannah fermin's work is beautiful, she has illustrated for children's books such as the Alexander McCall Smith books. Her common type of print is linocut but occasionally uses woodcut. Her use and mix of colours bring her work to life. 

Agnes miller parker.

Sue scullard. I'm getting into patterns lately and looking at Scullard's work is so inspiring. The balloon reminds me of an old varse or antique bowl. 

Bill sanderson.

Albert Durer. One word. Beautiful.  I once studied Durer at A level and his etchings and attention to detail is mind blowing. I really love his work. 

John piper.

Cheeky Print Sketchbooks

I've been a little busy producing some homemade sketchbooks to contain my work in, its feels more personal if i make my own sketchbooks and they just look freaking cool! 


First off my observational and research drawings sketchbook. 

Secondly i have made a tiny winy sketchbook for any notes relating to print or any ideas that come to me. Basically strictly words.

I have made a research folder too which will contain all those random loose bits of paper that give me inspiration and ideas. 


Peace out people.

Printmaking Introduction.

Hello readers,

I have been at university now for a good 4 months or so and it's time to do my first blog. I have always wanted to do one but never really decided what to focus it on. Now I am studying printmaking i have been demanded to produce one and it's going to be epic! Im excited so i hope you are!  

Right, the brief! Antique, Artefact or Junk? My first missions are to record and produce some drawings from my bedroom, the roadside and the V & A museum. These will be completed when i find my pencil.But let's go into a bit more detail about the brief. 

Test components as “Antique, Artefact or Junk?” Explore their value; initially as a personal response but then compare your response to other opinions such as society (the general public or news media) outlawed (graffiti) or any provided display information (historical academic opinion) or intention of who made it (designer, artist, crafts person). Use this to inform and expand your thinking, Theorize and make discoveries of your own.

   

Reinvent the viewing perspective by representing fresh data that demonstrates an interesting visual outcome. Explore and develop your own visual sense by comparing what you are doing in reference to other appropriate art practitioner's work. Develop confidence by understanding how these visuals work.

This pathway is designed to use printmaking as an element and tool that initiates imaginative discovery along your creative journey.

I have used printmaking before at A level and foundation. I was pretty handy at a bit of lino but then went on to develop my etching skills. I thrived on etching as it related to my pen and ink style a lot. I'm quite a line loving person. So my previous skills and knowledge should help me get started in this pathway. I am looking forward to screen-printing, as I have always wanted to learn this type of print and produce my own clothes as well. We did have a talk in the first semester about making books with printmaking, I may explore this too.

Lets do this......