Month: October 2018

When transferring designs to a block, there are several factors to consider: can the design be seen on the block? Will it wash off? Will the design
be transferred to the print? In this project, we test two different carbon papers on six different relief blocks. We test them with three types of
ink: waterbased, water washable and oil based to see which combinations work the best. 

The two carbon papers we are testing are Blue Carbon Paper and Red Japanese Carbon Paper

Both carbon papers come in packs of ten sheets at roughly A4 size. 

We are testing our carbon papers on several different blocks: (from left to right) Japanese Vinyl,
Traditional Grey Hessian Backed Lino,
Easy Carve,
Japanese Ply,
Transparent Relief Printing Block and Softcut. 

Our first test is to see which carbon papers transfer onto which blocks. 

Both the red and the blue carbon papers transfer well onto the ply and the grey lino. 

 

Only the red carbon paper transfers onto the softcut, transparent block, easy carve and vinyl. The blue does not show on any of these blocks. 

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The next test is to see if the marks can be cleaned off. Often, especially when printing in the reduction method or proofing, we want to clean the ink
off our blocks without removing our drawing. Other times, we may want to clean the drawing off our block to start again, so it’s important to know
how our carbon papers will behave when cleaned. 

When cleaned with water on a rag:

Softcut – the red lines smudged

Transparent Block – the red lines cleaned away

Ply – the red lines did not clean off, the blue lines did not clean off 

Easy Carve – the red lines did not clean off

Lino – the red lines did not clean off, the blue lines cleaned away

Vinyl – the red lines did not clean off

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When cleaned with oil on a rag:

 Softcut – the red lines cleaned away

Transparent Block – the red lines cleaned away

Ply – the red lines smudged, the blue lines smudged

Easy Carve – the red lines cleaned away

Lino – the red lines did not clean off, the blue lines did not clean off

Vinyl – the red lines cleaned away

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When cleaned with Zest It on a rag:

 Softcut – the red lines cleaned away

Transparent Block – the red lines cleaned away

Ply – the red lines smudged, the blue lines smudged

Easy Carve – the red lines cleaned away

Lino – the red lines became paler but did not clean off, the blue lines cleaned away

Vinyl – the red lines cleaned away

It was worth noting that it was difficult to redraw on the block with carbon paper after they had been cleaned with Zest It. 

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Next, we want to test if the carbon lines will transfer when printed. We re-drew on all the blocks and printed with Cranfield Waterbased Relief Inks, Caligo
Safe Wash Inks and Hawthorn Stay Open Oil Based Inks. 

The results from each ink can be seen in the prints below: 

When printing with Caligo Safe Wash Inks:

 Softcut – no transference 

Transparent Block – transference from red carbon paper (blue carbon paper did not work on block)

Ply – no transference

Easy Carve – no transference

Lino – no transference

Vinyl – no transference

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When printing with Hawthorn Oil Based Stay Open Inks:

Softcut – no transference

Transparent Block – transference from red carbon paper (blue carbon paper did not work on
block)

Ply – no transference 

Easy Carve – no transference

Lino – no transference

Vinyl – a tiny amount of transference from red carbon paper 

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When printing with Cranfield Water Based Inks:

Softcut – transference from red carbon paper (blue carbon paper did not work on the block) 

Transparent Block – transference from red carbon paper (blue carbon paper did not work on
the block)

Ply – a tiny amount of transference from red carbon paper, no transference from blue carbon paper

Easy Carve – a tiny amount of transference from red carbon paper

Lino – a little transference from blue carbon paper, no transference from red carbon paper

Vinyl – a tiny amount of transference from red carbon paper (blue carbon paper did not work on the block) 

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To conclude, we found that the Blue Carbon Paper only works on the traditional grey lino and ply, not on any of the other blocks. The red carbon paper works on every block. Zest-It cleans off both carbon papers off all of the blocks except red carbon paper on lino and ply and blue carbon paper on ply.
There is little transference on any of the prints apart from the red carbon paper on the transparent block. 

The best combination seems to be Red Carbon Paper on grey Lino as there is no transference to prints and the marks are not removed with water or oil and are only made paler with Zest-It. 

 

 

 

My name is Freya Scott and I am a book binder, photographer and marbler. I work mostly out of a studio in London, but I also work across the country teaching, especially in the West Country where I am an instructor with Bound by Veterans, a charity that helps sick and injured veterans to gain valuable skills and qualifications as well as experience the therapeutic effect of craft.

Describe your printmaking process.

It all starts with the marbling bath. The water-based substance I marble on is called ‘size’ and this needs to be prepared in advance. After a day or so
it is ready, and I can begin mixing inks. They all have their own properties and behaviours, so testing them out can take a while. Once they are all
doing what they should, I use different methods to apply the ink to the surface of the size. The inks can then be manipulated into hundreds of different patterns. Once the pattern is finished, I lay my paper (which has been treated with a solution to help the ink stick to it) onto the surface. The paper is then peeled back and the pattern has been transferred – this is the magical part! After that, it is rinsed and hung to dry.

How and where did you learn to print?

My first marbling experience was when I was about 9 years old with one of those kits you can buy. It wasn’t anything special, but I thought it was marvellous! After that I did a few marbling sessions while I was doing my bookbinding training (I trained in commercial binderies and also with individual bookbinders) but it always frustrated me – there were too many variables, and the method was confusing. When I started teaching with Bound by Veterans, we invited a master marbler to come and do a day with us, and something clicked. After that, I went home and couldn’t stop. I spent months and months testing, improving and developing my style and skills, and I’ve been doing it ever since.

Why printmaking?

There is something entirely magical about making patterns and prints, especially with marbling. At the beginning, everything is a wonder – you never know what you are going to get. As you progress, you realise how much is involved, but once you get to the stage where you can translate an idea in your head into a pattern on the bath, it is worth all the hours of testing. It is absolutely the most wonderful thing for anyone who loves colour, because the colour combinations are endless.

Where do you work?

Most of the time I work out of a studio in south east London, and when I’m not there I’m in the West Country teaching – every now and then I head further afield to teach, which is always good fun.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

Most days begin after a dog walk with my hairy dog child Ludo. He comes into work every day, so the first thing is to get him settled with a nice chew!
After that, I’ll begin work on any orders. I’ll put the radio on and just crack on. Sometimes, if it’s going well, I’ll forget to have lunch. By the
end of the day, if it’s been a marbling day, there’ll be a rack of papers hanging to dry, and I’ll be covered in paint. Ludo too, sometimes. The studio
is in an old factory which has lots of other studios, so there is always someone around to have a cup of coffee with, or generally procrastinate with. I tend to work right up until I can barely stand, so I often leave the place in a bit of a mess. I am determined to become more organised, but I’m
better at making than tidying and admin!

How long have you been printmaking?

In different ways, probably about 10 or twelve years.

What inspires you?

Everything. I take pictures of everything everywhere. Weird shadows, textured walls, random colour combinations I like. The last photo I took was of someone holding one of my blue books and they are wearing bright orange nail varnish. I need to make a paper that is blue with hints of fluorescent orange! If I deliberately need inspiration, I’ll pick up one of my books on colour, or I’ll take a trip to an art gallery. I love looking at other people’s work. It’s also important to me to get away from all the stimulation too – I can only process it all when I’m somewhere quiet and green and leafy.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

Paper. Aside from colour, paper is the thing that really makes a print sing. I love trying different types, and seeing what it can bring to a design.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I’m usually a bit in love with everything that I make, until I’ve seen it too much, then I hate it. So really the thing I’ve made that I’m most proud of
is my business. I never imagined that I would be able to do it, and (with a lot of support from my partner) I’ve managed to turn something I love into
the thing I do every day.

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?

I try and put my work in lots of different places, especially where I can interact with people viewing it. I do a couple of pop up shops and exhibitions every year, and I have my work in a few independent shops, but mostly I post my work online, either on my website (where it is for sale) or Instagram. I like to post videos of the process, and see how people react to new designs.

What will we be seeing from you next?

I’m working a lot more on moving into other areas of design. I will never stop making books, but I’m excited to try out my patterns on other things – I’m doing more on leather and fabric, and there is even some wallpaper in the pipeline!

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Meet other makers, and take your work out into the world. Other makers can support you and inspire you, and meeting the people who love your work will spur you on to make more and more. And on that front, never stop learning and experimenting. Take other random classes – everything you do will feed back into your work.

Find more wors from Paperwilds on Freya’s website: www.paperwilds.co.uk or on Instagram:
@paperwilds

Freya will be in the studio teaching Paper Marbling in April 2019!

Making a batik is the satisfying process
of layering wax and dye to create bold, intricate designs. The more layers of dye and wax that are added, the thicker and stiffer the fabric will become.
At the end of this process, you’re left with a hard, milky-looking piece of cloth. Here’s how to iron the wax out of your batik to get the vibrancy
back into your designs! 

Place a large wad of newspaper onto a board with your batik on top.

Place a single sheet of newspaper over the batik. With an iron on medium to hot, iron over the area of the batik. The wax should start to melt through
the newspaper. 

It is advisable to keep a separate iron for this process as it may become contaminated with wax that could transfer onto your clothes. 

Please note, if the iron begins to smoke, unplug it straight away and with it still turned off, iron onto a clean cloth to remove any excess wax from the surface of the iron.

When the whole area of the batik has darkened with melted wax, it’s time to change the paper.

Peel the waxy newspaper off the batik. If it sticks, gently heat the surface with the iron to re-melt the wax. Place a fresh sheet on top and continue
to iron, changing the paper each time it fills with wax. You may want to change the top sheet underneath the batik too. 

When a fresh sheet of newspaper no longer fills with any wax, the batik is ready! It should look vibrant and be softer to handle. The small amount of wax
left in the fabric brightens and darkens the colour of the dyes (like a grease stain in a piece of clothing). 

This technique is perfect for batiks as pieces of artwork in their own right or for lampshades! Please note, batiks that are for garments and soft
furnishings will need to have the excess removed by dry cleaning or dipping briefly in boiling water – please note that this will fade the colour
by removing the ‘grease-stain’ effect of the wax and removing excess dye so do so with caution!

Here’s another sampler batik before and after ironing:

 

 

To iron your batik you will need:

• Ironing board or hard surface
• LOTS of newspaper
• An iron (an old or cheap iron reserved only for batik is advisable)
• Your batik! 

Ian Mowforth will be teaching a Linocut Pet Portrait Workshop for us in May 2020.

I am a painter and printmaker. I have experimented with pretty much every type of material and process over the years. I always return to painting and
printing though.

Describe your printmaking process.

I am usually a Lino artist. I have returned to etching and lithography this year too. I love the immediacy of Lino. I’m a teacher in a secondary school
and get some time to make my own work in between lessons and marking. Lino is something that I can pick up and put down easily after many years of using it.

How and where did you learn to print?

I did some Printmaking at school which pretty much put me off. I started printing on Foundation Course when I was 18. Mainly lithography and mono printing. I then experimented with etching on my Degree at Wimbledon School of Art in the 80s. They have a great print department.

I went on to do an MA in print at Brighton University.

Why printmaking?

I like the idea of making multiple images. I love the discipline and rigour of the techniques. I think because my painting is all about colour it’s good
for me to make something just in one colour. I’m often asked why I don’t make multi coloured prints. I have no interest in that as it’s something I
already do in my painting.

Where do you work?

I have a studio in Wimbledon. I paint from there. I generally print at school as we have a press there.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

There isn’t a typical day in the studio. Sometimes I’m painting a commission, often of a dog. Sometimes I’m cutting a piece of Lino. I teach 5 days a week so I’m generally in my studio between 6 and 9 pm on weekdays. Then most of Saturday and Sunday. I do get very good holidays so I’m always in the studio then.

How long have you been printmaking?

I made my first print when I was 13. It was a reduction Linocut of a volcano. It was hideous. It cured me of printing for many years. I seriously started printing in the early 90s where I used Lino for several years. I had a break from printing until 2014. That’s when a friend encouraged me to put a print in the RA summer show. My print of Princess changed my life. I sold 74 copies and it opened lots of doors to me.

What inspires you?

I’m a huge fan of the real world. I love nature. I’m fascinated by plants and animals. I use the internet and regularly raid Instagram for imagery. I visit
exhibitions as I live in London. I find though that my inspiration really comes when I’m making something. No point in waiting for the next great idea. Just get on and the ideas come…….. it’s never let me down yet!!

What is your favourite printmaking product?

One of the things that has really transformed my practice is Pfeil tools and also good quality rollers. Couldn’t be without papers too. Purcell Papers are my church…….

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I’m proud of most of the things I make. There are always things I keep that I don’t want to sell. Seeing my card in the RA shop was a big thrill and all
the red dots on the print too.

Where can we see your work? Where do you sell?

I sell directly from my studio in Wimbledon Arts Studios. We have an open studio exhibition twice a year. Next one is 15th to 18th of November. I also
sell through my website ianmowforth.com

You can enquire through Instagram too, @mowie66

People generally get in touch to ask me to paint their dogs. It’s what I’m more known for these days ……

What will we be seeing from you next?

I’m doing quite a lot of painting at the moment inspired by Great Dixter garden in Northiam. I’m also going to make some much larger scale Linocuts of dogs and other animals. They’ll be printed on to paper and fabric and stretched on to canvas stretchers.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

My advice would be to find a medium/s that you feel comfortable with. Try not to master too many techniques at once. All Printmaking processes take a while to become fluent in. Also, buy the best materials that you can afford as they do make a huge difference to your learning experience.

See more from Ian on his website or on Instagram.

Ian Mowforth will be teaching a Linocut Pet Portrait Workshop for us in May 2020.