Its been a while since I have shared. The semester is coming to an end and there’s always so much to do get things wrapped up for final critiques. It’s been a crazy couple of weeks.
The latest project was prints using a collagraph technique. I am still not sure whether I like collagraphs yet or not. It was fun but certainly not my favorite printing technique right now but it does have a lot of possibilities. I do like some of the effect you are able to get with the inks on these plates. A wide range of ink applying techniques can be used. I tried used A la poupée, rubbing ink, and rolling ink with a brayer. They all have their advantages ow what you are trying to do. The best prints were produced using all three techniques on the same plate.
My collagraph plates were created with several different materials. Burlap material, feathers, copper links, small beads, acrylic molding paste and artificial lavender plant, and hot glue was use to create the plates.
The burlap was a tricky material. It adhered to the plate fairly easily but did not hold up well to the inking and even worse for the plate cleanup. The burlap material started breaking down after a view prints. The weaving started to come apart. I tried several techniques to get the ink on the burlap. The ink on the brayer seemed to be the best way to get the most out of the texture of the burlap.
The feathers were good but very delicate. They adhered to the plate very easily with PVA glue. They produced some great texture on the plates. It held up very well during printing. The feathers were quite delicate and during clean up of the plates the started to come apart. Great care needs to be used when using this type of material.
The copper links were a little difficult to get adhered to the plate. Once they were on they proved to be a great element to the print. They were raised higher on the plate that what would be optimal. I had to be careful so the links did not imprint in the press felts. Overall I was happy with the effects they produced on the print.
The beads were not a good material. They were difficult to glue on the plate and they did not hold up well. They came off during inking. The shape and size of the beads cause deep embossment into the prints. In a few place the beads came loose from the plate and embedded into the paper. I don’t think these were a good material at for this application.
The acrylic molding paste was great. It was easy to apply, was easy to create texture, and help up well during inking and cleaning up. The paste also produced some great texture effects on the prints. I think this is a great application for the paste. I would like to explore the molding paste a little more. I think there is a lot of potential to create some great effects.
The artificial plant material also gave some great effects on the print. The plant held up well but was a little more difficult to get it to adhere to the plate.
The hot glue worked great. It took a little to be able to get a consistent flow from the hot glue gun. I do like the free form and organic lines you can get from the hot glue. It applied easy, dried quickly, and held up throughout the entire printing process.
I enjoy the project. It allowed a lot of experimentation and play. Got to try some new things. I ended up happy with some of the results I got from these plate. It’s funny, I wasn’t happy with the plates after I finished them but they produced some great prints. All the materials also let me see how they would respond to the inks and printing process.
Making the plates kind of felt like kindergarten again, not necessarily a bad thing!
Check out some of the results…
Daylene Horn Art 