Year: 2021

Mirror Card is a great option for intaglio plate making. It’s shiny and wipeable, making it brilliant for expressive inking and sketchy designs. Peel away the surface to create dark, inky areas too. Scroll to the bottom to watch a video of the whole process or read on for instructions.

Mirror card is a thin card with a shiny surface on one side. It works similarly to tetra pak printing but is available in flat A4 sheets, unlike tetra paks which are irregularly shaped with creases and folds.

This is an intaglio process which means that lines are drawn into the plate, inked up, wiped and then printed onto dampened paper. Ideally, an etching press is used to print (but we have a method for printing without a press here).

Cut a piece of mirror card to your chosen size. Use an etching needle to draw into the plate. Press quite firmly so that lines are scored into the plate.

Use hatching and cross hatching to create areas of tone.

To create solid areas that will hold on to lots of ink, use a scalpel to score the edges of a section (being careful to not cut all the way through the card) and then use the point of the scalpel to lift the shiny surface of the card and peel it away. This reveals the fluffy surface of the card inside: a texture that ink will cling to.

Before beginning to ink up the plate, soak your paper in a tray of water. We are using 300gsm Snowdon paper. A thick paper like this soaks well and prints intaglio work beautifully. 

We are using Akua Intaglio Ink, a soy based ink that is easy to clean up with soap and water. 

Working on an inking plate, use a wad of rag to to dab ink all over the surface of the plate.

Next, use a piece of scrim to wipe the plate, using a twisting motion to work the ink into the lines whilst removing excess from the surface. At this point, you should see the drawing emerge.

Use a clean rag to remove further ink from the plate. Wrap it around the end of your finger to shine up the plate more precisely. Alternatively, use a cotton bud. Shine up any areas that you would like to appear white in the final print. You can add more ink with scrim in areas that you would like more texture. 

Lay the plate face up on the bed of an etching press (or see here for a press-less method). Blot the soaked paper. It should feel damp but not be dripping wet. Lay the paper on the plate and cover with a blanket. Roll it through the press, set with a tight pressure. 

You can then ink up and plate again for another print. When finished, clean any excess ink from the plate with a cloth.

For this project you will need:

• Mirror card
• Etching needle
• Scalpel
• Cutting Mat
• Akua Intaglio Ink
• Inking Plate
• Scrim
• Rags
• Paper (such as Snowdon)
• Tray in which to soak paper
• Blotting paper (or similar)
• Etching press, if using

Hi, we’re Ellen Wagner and Axel Roessler, we live in Frankfurt/Germany and share a passion for screen printing. Our screen printing studio “Print now – Riot later” was founded in 2014 in Tucson/Arizona, where we have lived and worked from 2014 – 2019. Having left the dusty desert behind us, we have been pursuing our passion for screen printing in the freshly furnished workshop rooms in Maintal since summer 2019. Here we dedicate ourselves to textile screen printing and explore the creative possibilities of fabric pattern printing.

Describe your printmaking process.

Before the actual printing, we concentrate on the idea, compile images for a mood board and start sketching, either with pen or ink. In some but not all cases we use the usual Adobe software tools to modify the first drafts, Axel sometimes uses Cinema 4D to generate templates. As we’re screen printers there’s always the extended chain of preparation: cleaning and coating the screen, transferring the artwork on transparency and exposing the screen, retouching, and exposing another time.

Of course, the printing process is where the fun begins. When printing yardage, we always do it together because our screens are really huge – so we stand vis-à-vis and hand over the squeegee in the middle of the screen while printing. It took a while to get to know all the tricks with the amount of pressure, the consistency of the ink, the number of strokes and so on. We have learned that especially when it comes to textile printing there isn’t the right way to print that will always give you top results. It’s all trial and error, learning from your past mistakes and not giving in too fast. Printing on textiles – and we’re not talking of T-shirts here – is quite a challenge.

How and where did you learn to print?

We started round about 2010. Ellen took a screen printing class while at the University of Art and Design in Offenbach (close to Frankfurt) and immediately knew that this might be THE thing for her, and it didn’t take too long to convince Axel that this medium would be a nice tool of choice for expressing creative ideas – and she was right.

Why printmaking?

In printing, we both can bring together our aesthetic preferences and graphic ideas although we have totally different backgrounds: Ellen is a graduate illustrator and graphic designer; Axel has been working in the field of 3D and motion design for many years. We’re not big fans of pushing pixels all day, it’s more the idea of keeping on with a traditional handcraft that seems fulfilling to us. Of course, we know that working with graphic software is a lot of fun, but the authentic work with ink, the work with “real” tools (without the choice to go back a few steps in a couple of clicks) and the charming imperfections seem to be more rewarding for us in the end.

Where do you work?

We’re happy to have our own printing studio in the industrial area of Maintal, a small village close to Frankfurt. We go by bike every day as we don’t own a car, and it takes us maybe 40 minutes to get there – it’s our daily exercise (besides printing). In the same building, our landlord runs his own screen printing studio, and we’ve learned a lot from him – he’s extremely helpful, funny, a problem solver and has been in the printing business a long time. He teaches screen printing at the University of Art and Design, so we’re more than happy to have him around.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

There’s no typical day, not at all, but every day starts with making coffee first. The next step depends on what we’re on: probably adding the next colours to a poster that we started a day ago, maybe signing and storing some finished prints, shipping some orders, and coating the screens for the next day. At the end of the day, we always clean up so that it feels good to open the doors again the next day. What we do not do in the studio is work on designs – we both like to do this in our homes as it’s much easier to concentrate and focus on the ideas in our own four walls.

What inspires you?

At the moment the design concepts of the whole mid-century modern era have the strongest impact on our own output: geometric shapes in play, folk art transcribed into new forms. It still seems like an era full of new and fresh ideas. We feel that the 70s get more and more influential for us too, but one may not recognize this in our work (yet).

What is your favourite printmaking product?

We could talk a lot about our favourite ink systems here but decided to go in a more exotic direction: for us, it’s maybe the sidekick that keeps the screens in the elevated position when we print on paper. After losing too much hair and/or getting ink on the head while trying to hold the screen in the lifted position, the purchase of this made things so much easier.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

For us, it’s our three wall hangings that we really like most. Ellen designed the squirrel gang, Axel went into the abstract direction with the ‘Sanskrit’ motif and then there’s our favourite collaboration yet: The ‘Knobbly tree’, designed by Adam Higton. All three were fun to print and we love them!

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

Well, these are special times, and because of the pandemic, the possibilities to show our products in a direct way to people like in a market were, well, more than limited over the last few months. We have our own website with an online store and we’re selling our goodies at Selekkt/, a well-curated online store for all things handmade. Oh, and there’s Instagram – at the beginning, we were kind of suspicious about social media, but now we love it and have made a lot of connections that we don’t want to miss.

What will we be seeing from you next?

Good question. We can’t name a specific product, but in general, we feel that we want to focus more on the art-related output – that may result in a poster series, a wall hanging or an object we haven’t done yet. We always feel that our best work is still ahead of us!

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Don’t be afraid of mistakes, don’t compare yourself to others all the time, listen to your heart and stay focused. It’s okay if an idea takes days or weeks to unfold as it’s always the result that counts.

To see more from Ellen and Axel check out their Instagram.

I’m Rachael, owner and founder of RLH Prints. I am a linocut artist and illustrator specialising in botanically inspired artwork. My process involves hand carving and printing my lino blocks on a traditional style etching press.

How and where did you learn to print?

I studied fine art at university however it wasn’t until after I left that I began to explore printmaking. I got a job as an art technician in a private school and they had a beautiful old press that I was able to experiment with.

Why printmaking?

Because even after years of doing it you never know what you will end up with when you pull that first test print. I love the range of textures you can get from the medium of lino print, and the carving side is purely meditative for me.

Where do you work?

Currently, my front room in my 1 bed flat has doubled as my art studio/ packing room/ office. I am also lucky enough to be able to use the amazing print facilities at my work where I work as a printmaking facilitator.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

If I’m working from home I generally make myself a coffee and do a bit of boring admin or faff about on Instagram. Then I might package some orders and do a post office run before lunch. Later in the day is when I get to print/carve. I have to get the other stuff out the way before I can actually relax and find some inspiration after having a short walk in the park.

How long have you been printmaking?

I would say I have been printmaking professionally for officially 3 years. Before that I dabbled on and off with other mediums but when I started lino cutting there was no going back.

What inspires you?

Mostly the natural world, science and specimens. I absolutely adore the Natural History Museum and Kew Gardens and regularly visit to get inspiration for a new print. I also think macabre Victorian curiosity illustrations have really influenced my work as of late.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

I have so many but if I had to narrow it down it would have to be Cranfield’s metallic inks range. They are just the most beautiful consistency and a joy to print with. It really does feel like your pulling a print made of pure liquid gold magic.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

Currently, it would have to be my new two-layer block print of a South African Protea flower. I don’t often use colour in my work, and mostly revert to black ink. I wanted to experiment with creating some earthy organics tones and introduce a pop of colour in the background while keeping the bold graphic detail in the foreground.

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

I mostly sell online through my website. I have a couple of instore shops that will be stocking my prints but they are to be announced! Any updates are always released on my Instagram page first.

What will we be seeing from you next?

I am hoping to try out some repeat pattern designs for wallpaper or fabric because I also have such a passion for interior design and décor.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

My advice would be to immerse yourself in what inspires you. Make art for you and no one else. Also if there are beginners looking to get into linocut you should know that you don’t need expensive professional equipment or tools to create a brilliant print! Just keep practising and utilise what you have!

To see more from Rachael check out her Instagram.

My name is Meg Fatharly, and I am a multidisciplinary Printmaker and Artists currently based in the South East of the UK. I graduated from Falmouth University back in 2018 having studied BA Drawing and since then have continued to experiment in my process and dancing between printmaking and collage work. I was born in Edinburgh and brought up by the coast and I am inspired by Nature and all things texture and pattern.

Describe your printmaking process.

I would describe my printmaking process as organic chaos, in that it is intuitive and led by ideas and through the action of printmaking rather than planned. I love to manipulate the surface and explore how this can be taken apart and put back together. My process has adapted massively, and it has had to due to the environment. This has involved printing in my bedroom, travelling into London to print and it’s led to where I print currently, in my parents’ garage. I am so fortunate to have a space that means I’m able to explore my practice every day.

How and where did you learn to print?

I first learnt to print properly on my art foundation back in 2014, which I also did at Falmouth. The only printing I had done before was a tiny bit of lino (it was dodgy believe me) as my school didn’t have those kinds of facilities. I still remember the first time I knew printmaking was for me. We had workshops in the first few weeks of our foundation where we could try out different techniques and the workshop was all about mono-printing. I was hooked very quickly, and I think this was because of the endless possibilities that the process offers/offered. I have always done collage and I think the idea of layering between the process’s crosses over very well. The technicians on my foundation and my tutor John Howard, who is a Printmaker based in Penryn taught me what I know. Also, the technicians on my degree were some of the best people I learnt from, in that they encouraged me to push my visual language every day. It was a place I felt I was able to just play and learn.

Why printmaking?

Printmaking for me is meditative and repetitive. It is that process that slows a manic and anxious individual like me down. It is such a physical process. The actions and small fragments of how one thing leads to another make every part of the process exciting. I’m really able to articulate my thoughts and ideas through making and working with paper as a medium. I’ve been able to connect with some of the best people who also print. I never feel more connected to my ideas than when I can experiment and manipulate the surface. Printmaking is tactile and sensory and it’s where I feel most alive, through the action of making.

Where do you work?

I currently work in the garage and at the end of the dining room table. This came about in lockdown where I lost freelance work (I used to work in events and as a facilitator in art galleries and with charities) and needed something to throw my energy into.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

A typical day can really vary and in the last 9 months, I’ve been thrown into running a small business and learning on the go. It’s been full-filling and daunting at the same time. I’m usually up by 9 packing orders and working on wholesale/projects. I am currently trying to strike up some kind of balance with not working ALL the time and giving myself some time to experiment with new ideas. When you work from home and it is all-encompassing it can be hard to switch off. I am still learning to navigate this.

How long have you been printmaking?

About 6 years? Officially full time since March 2020. When lockdown happened my art sort of took off which was very unexpected. I made (and still make) collage kits and hand-bound sketchbooks for people to have a go at making and playing with different materials. I am in the process of setting up workshops but currently do demos and online tutorials on my Instagram.

What inspires you?

I think ultimately being outside and by the sea. However, I am a highly sensitive and stimulated person. I often find you could put me in any location and my mind would find some way to be inspired by it. I love to explore new places and connect with other makers. This is why I love social media. I have met some wonderful friends through it, and love to encourage other people to try the process.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

Probably my press, that I bought from Handprinted back in May. It’s shown me that with determination I’ve been able to invest in something that elevates my work and let me plays with scale. When I graduated it was so hard for me to get access to a print studio. It was about adapting and finding different ways of printing, without a press. I first bought a craft embossing printer from a charity shop for a tenner. It was a real find but so poorly made and I was trying to print copper plate etchings on it. It sort of worked but I was only able to really do mono-printing with a rolling pin and the back of a spoon.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I am most proud of my hand-cut embossed piece as they came from wanting to combine something tactile and subtle, that I hadn’t seen done before. I combine hand-cut moulds and emboss them and then elevate certain areas with coloured collaged elements. I love how people constantly question my work. I like the layers of my work and how it is often made up of 3-4 different processes.

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

You can buy my work online and through my Instagram. I am stocked across the UK in independent shops such as Daylesford, Popham’s Bakery, Folka, and other shops and galleries.

What will we be seeing from you next?

This is a daily question that I ask myself. I am wanting to continue to sell my work but also work on collaborating with other artists. I love translating my visual language onto different surfaces. So maybe something textile related? Who knows.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Never. Stop. Experimenting.

To be honest we are all winging it. I think people see you have X number of followers and assume you’ve made it. It’s constant navigation and a learning rollercoaster. Also, pace yourself. I am really driven but to the point of burn out and I am not very good at stopping.

Connect and reach out to people who inspire you. You never know how much that sort of thing can mean to someone.

Join Meg on Sunday 28th February 2021 for her talk on Confidence and Creativity. You can find more information here!

To see more from Meg follow her on Instagram.

Sometimes when block printing, blocks can resist the ink and it splits on the surface. This makes it difficult to print a flat, even colour and can be so frustrating. This is particularly common on vinyl blocks when using water-based inks but can occur on lots of surfaces.

Use this quick, easy technique to prepare your blocks and make sure they accept the ink evenly.

Add a little water to the block and use a fine Sanding Block to sand all over the surface. The fine Sanding Block won’t mark or scratch the block but the abrasion will prepare the surface for ink. This works on vinyl (like Easy Carve and Softcut) as well as traditional hessian-backed lino.

After working all over the surface of the block for a minute or so it should ink up evenly without splitting at all!

You will need:

• Your printing block (e.g. Softcut, Easy Carve, Japanese Vinyl)
• Fine Sanding Block
• Water

Hi, my name is Charlie Evaristo-Boyce. I’m an artist from Margate who runs an online art gallery.

Describe your printmaking process.

My printmaking process revolves around screen printing. I use the process to make my bright and fun artworks. When I first started making prints a lot of my inspiration came from found images but as my work developed, I started to incorporate photography and more recently illustration.

How and where did you learn to print?

The first screenprint I made was when I was at college it was very simple and made from cut out stencils, this got me hooked and halfway through my fine art degree at UCA Farnham I really started to explore and experiment with the process. My print tutor Tony Lee had a very relaxed hands-on approach to teaching. The print room, which was shared with the textiles department, was of a high standard and slightly underused. This gave me free rein and a lot of space to experiment with. I made large scale installations, printed on a range of different materials and made silkscreen paintings. At first, a lot of my prints were appropriations of commercial graphics, dissecting these images was great for learning about layers and different print techniques.

Why printmaking?

Print became my preferred means of making when I realised that the artworks I was producing with it were close, if not almost identical to, the ideas I was having. Other processes like painting and sculpture sometimes altered my ideas, clouding my original vision and becoming something else completely. That’s why I always returned to the familiarity of printmaking. When I produced my pop art inspired prints, they had a zing to them and seemed to jump out of the surface they were printed on. The crisp bold lines and flat bright colours were appealing to viewers, and after selling a few prints at an exhibition it became clear that this process both satisfied myself and people who were looking for affordable high-quality handmade art.

Where do you work?

I work out of Resort Studios in Margate. Within the studios is Hello Print Studio which is a fantastic print room which can facilitate multiple processes. The print studio is run by Nick Morley who is an exquisite illustrator and linocut expert (he wrote the book on it). The print studio is home to many amazing local artists, who all provide creative conversations and diverse inspiration. With 24-hour access for members, I’m often found printing into the night whilst jamming to tunes.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

On a typical day, I cycle down the road to my studio, it’s not far but cycling is always quicker. There are usually 3 types of days. There is a lot of ‘Art Admin’ which can be managing and fulfilling orders, sourcing materials and generally just figuring stuff out. Other days are design days where I feed my subconscious with podcasts and images whilst drawing or digitally editing new ideas. The third kind of day is a print day where everything is in place and ready to go. Where I can listen to some beats and rhythmically make my screen prints. In the summer when it gets hot in the studio the best way to end the day is walking down the road and having a dip in the sea.

How long have you been printmaking?

I have been printmaking for about 9 years now.

What inspires you?

I am inspired by the soup of imagery that surrounds us all, images and ideas can come from every direction of everyday life. I can be in a supermarket and graphics just jump out at me. I could be scrolling the web or looking at old books. Travel is also very important, experiencing different cultures and places that are eye-opening. You can step in someone else’s shoes for a day and see what they see every day. Recently I have been drawing a lot more and I really enjoy plucking fictitious illustrations out of my head but also combining them with copied illustrations of things I have seen.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

My favourite tool is an old wooden screen printing squeegee, its well-worn wooden handle feels warm and the layers of encrusted ink look like gems poking out of the bark.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

One of my favourite artworks I have made was a portrait of my Nigerian great grandfather ‘Gregorio Evaristo’. It was a photographic screenprint on canvas, and it was framed with some reclaimed fairground architecture. I enjoyed making it because of its scale and because it was influenced by both my Nigerian heritage and my decision to base myself in the seaside town of Margate.

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

The best place to see my work is via my virtual gallery. As well as my own artworks I also showcase a curated selection of prints that I have collaborated on with other artists. There are a lot of prints that are exclusive to my website so be sure to check it out! I also sell work in the Turner Contemporary shop; I am currently working on a new range of products with them for spring 2021.

What will we be seeing from you next?

I am really enjoying my current pace of life; I am always making new things and promoting them on Instagram. 2020 was a year of 0 physical exhibitions, but in a way, that was quite good and reflective. It has been a change to work at a slower pace and spend time making more complicated and intricate prints. The past year has been good for getting my virtual gallery where I want it to be. What I am really looking forward to doing is having an exhibition of all the things I have made this year. To keep up to date with my work check out my Instagram and hopefully I will have a show on soon.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

The advice I would give to other artists, but especially emerging artists is to get into a creative space around other artists. Make connections, network, collaborate and have exhibitions or pop-ups. I used to run a gallery in the Old Town of Margate and this was such a useful springboard for my art and it allowed me to meet so many different people and what came with that was lots of opportunities.

To see more from Charlie follow him on Instagram.