Reprinting

When I downloaded the entry form for the West Lancs Open from the Chapel Gallery I noticed a call for entries for their Christmas exhibition from artists who work with stories – fable, myth and personal narratives.

I sent off my CV and some photos and I’ve been accepted!

Amongst the images I sent were the Taylor Brothers. I got the prints out of the drawer this week to check they were OK and I realised I’d printed them all on off white or cream paper, which I wasn’t too keen on in retrospect. So I reprinted them on smooth white this week.

Yet Another Try

I went to Hot Bed Press to print on Friday fully intending to redo the perspective book as a soft ground etching but when I looked more closely at the first plate and the test prints I decided that most of the problems were down to wiping not biting so I’m going to think about book covers and paper weight then try printing it again later.

So having nothing else prepared I decided to have another go at gum arabic transfer for resist.

 I still over cooked it in the solution but the resist took much better than last time. 

 The raggedness of the text I think was due to me jiggling the bath while the plate was biting. Not an intentional effect but one I will bear in mind for the future.

I also tried adding gum arabic transfer on top of the etching.

 And reprinting the etching plate on top of that. 

Then home and a trip to Ormskirk where the opening of the West Lancs Open Exhibition was taking place in the Chapel Gallery. I’m please to say that both Rapunzelle and Concession Pereptuelle were accepted

Large etching finished

Well I’ve finished the etching that I wanted to use for the perspective book but I think I managed to get grease on some areas of the plate while I was working on the tones so it hasn't bitten evenly in a couple of places. Having proofed it and worked into the more obvious blots and problems I'm still not sure about it.

I have another plate so I think I'll redo the image but this time I'll try a soft ground for the line etch just to see how the two compare. If I'm still not happy I can always revert to pen, watercolour and digital.

Book in a jar

After fiddling, experimenting and several strops I finally came to the conclusion that trying to print a 6 x 84cm image wasn’t going to work as a 4 colour separation gum arabic print. I’m not really sure why I thought it could in the first place.

Having decided that digital was going to be the way forward it meant accepting that I was working with cartridge paper.

I explored various closures and ways of attaching the scroll to dowel then realised the paper height was the right size to fit in the jar I use to mix my gum arabic in. Given the subject matter it seemed to make perfect sense.  So I bound the short edges with copper to finish them off and made a belly band with the image extending over it to hold the scroll shut.

It is intended as a comment on the practice of killing for collecting, such as big game hunting, birds egg collecting etc, rather than on the serious academic study of butterflies and moths. Not at all what I thought it was going to be when I started but I’m still pleased with it.