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.

If you’re a Halloween lover this project is for you! We’ve had a go with Speedball’s Acrylic Night Glo Ink and made our own glow in the dark Halloween poster. This ink really gives your prints a twist
– it would be great for children’s (or adults’!) bedrooms too.

This project uses paper stencils to create a two layered print on paper.

Start by drawing the designs onto copy paper – we’re using A3 80gsm paper. 80gsm is perfect for paper stencils. It’s thin enough to give crisp edges but
thick enough to withstand a good number of prints. 

Both masks and stencils can be used for screen printing. This first layer is made up of masks – a solid shape that blocks out the ink, leaving white areas.
Our next layer will be a stencil – a solid piece of paper with holes cut out to let the ink through. 

A hinged board is very helpful when screen printing onto paper. Hinge clamps are attached to a board, a screen is held in place, allowing you to lift it up to place your paper. The screen will
go down in the same place every time. 

Tape the edges of the screen with parcel tape on the front and back. If using masks, you’ll need to tape an aperture that will let the ink through. A right angle ruler can be useful to get this
square. We’re using an  A3 screen with 90T mesh. After the screen is taped, attach it to the hinge clamps. 

Place a piece of paper on the board and then place the first stencil or mask on top. Use masking tape to mark where the corners of the paper will go each
time a print is taken. 

Make sure the whole design fits in the aperture. 

When you’re happy with the position, scoop a line of acrylic screen printing ink along the top edge of the screen. 

Hold the screen slightly up and away from the board. Use a squeegee at a 45 degree angle to lightly drag the ink down the screen – this is called flooding the screen. Place the screen down
onto the board and pull the squeegee down the screen again, this time with no extra ink. Push hard. You’ll know you’ve printed the entire design when
no areas appear shiny. If they are, pull the squeegee down the screen again, pressing hard. 

Lift the screen to reveal a print. 

Place the print to one side and lay down another piece of paper. It’s important to work quickly and not let any ink dry in the mesh. To flood the screen
with ink, lift the screen slightly and push the ink back up the screen with the squeegee. Print again by placing the screen down and pulling the squeegee
hard down the mesh again. Continue for the whole edition. 

When the edition is finished, peel the paper stencils from the mesh. Use a spatula to scoop off any excess ink back into the pot. Use a soft sponge and
a bucket of cold water to gently clean the mesh to remove any ink. Let the screen dry. Leave the screen in the hinge clamps ready for the next layer. 

Layer two of our design is printed in Speedball Acrylic Night Glo Ink.
This ink is a very pale, milky green colour that shows up very slightly on white paper but glows in the dark! 

Place a print back onto the board using the masking tape corners to get it into position. Place the next stencil on top. You should be able to see the
first layer through slightly to help place the second layer. 

Scoop some ink onto the screen in a line slightly wider than the design. 

As before, flood the screen and then press firmly with the squeegee to print. It may be necessary to pull the squeegee down the screen a couple of times
to get a clear, solid print with the Night Glo ink. 

The Night Glo print will be very subtle on the paper. It may show up more on darker areas than on the white (see the dots in the eyes).

The print should glow in the dark!

(Note how the dots in the eyes do not glow as much as they were printed onto a dark ground.)

For this project you will need:

• Copy paper for stencils
• Cutting board
• Scalpel
• 90T screen for printing
  onto paper
• Squeegee
• Parcel Tape
• Scissors
• Hinge Clamps on a board
• Masking Tape
• Black Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink
• Night Glo Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink
• Spatula
• Bucket and soft sponge

We are a husband and wife screen printing duo. We met at university where we were both studying Art & Design. In 2011 we got engaged and started the
hunt for wedding stationery. We couldn’t find what we wanted without a huge price tag so we ended up hand screen printing them ourselves and we caught
the bug. Fast forward a couple of years and we were married and still working in London, both in design/ad agencies and then found out we were expecting
our first little one. We assessed all our options and decided we wanted to head out of the big smoke before the baby arrived and thought we would go
all in and set up Basil & Ford back in Stamford all before Matilda turned up in September 2013. And the rest, as they say is history.

Describe your printmaking process.

We have several arms to the business. We design and screen print graphic art prints, we create typographic designs that we print over original book plates
and we design our stationery ranges that we outsource. The screen printing process in short goes like this:

DESIGN – PRINT POSITIVE FILM – COAT SCREEN WITH LIGHT SENSITIVE EMULSION – EXPOSE DESIGN ONTO SCREEN – WASH – DRY – PRINT. We have a little diagram that
you can see on our website: http://www.basilandford.com/what-is-screenprinting/

How and where did you learn to print?

I (Lucy) went to Leeds Metropolitan University and studied art and design and was lucky enough to learn the ropes in their wonderful studio. Matt hadn’t
done it before so he learnt whilst we printed our wedding invitations. Then years later when we decided to set up our own studio we had to refresh
the knowledge again and there was A LOT of errors and learning on the job. Our skills now are so much further on that they were 5 years ago!

Why printmaking?

There is something so wonderful about creating something from scratch and using original processes to do so. Printing a design out on a digital printer
just doesn’t do it for us and we would find it very uninspiring and rather mundane doing that day in day out. We love being able to print on different
substrates and we especially love being able to print on extra thick card and wood.

Where do you work?

When we started we set up our studio in an old garage that wasn’t entirely water tight and was freezing in the winter and very warm in the summer. It wasn’t
ideal but it got us off the ground and we will always look back at those first years with fond memories. We now have an all singing, all dancing studio
that we love.

This is what the studio looked like before we took it over!

Describe a typical day in your studio.

We have two young children and it is only the 2 of us that run Basil & Ford. Our little boy has just turned one so Matt has been manning the studio
single handed for most of the last 12 months. One of our bread and butter products is our 3 Map Wedding Print which are made to order so they take
up a lot of his studio time as each one is laid out, hand printed and finished with original maps which have to be sourced from our vast collection,
cut, mounted and then everything is framed up.

When he isn’t doing that he will be creating new lucky dip prints on vintage book plates (which we also have a vast collection of!) or creating bespoke
wedding stationery for brides and grooms: https://www.instagram.com/mightyfineweddingsuk/

I look after all the finance, ordering, stocktake, wholesale, social media and all general admin from home, the studio or my parents house all with one
or two children tugging at my dress and asking for snacks! :0) September sees our eldest heading off to school so next year we will both be in the
studio together more which we really look forward to.

How long have you been printmaking?

We have been screenprinters since we opened up Basil & Ford in May 2013. We had a few days of it before this date so it was pretty bold to invest our
savings and set up a studio with such little knowledge but sometimes you have to jump straight in at the deep end. Below is an image of us at London
Print Studio back in 2011 and then in our old studio a couple of years ago.

What inspires you?

Everything around us really. Adverts, vintage typography, old books, graphic design, our friends.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

Matt loves creating our lucky dip prints as each one is unique and some of the book plates we are printing on date back to 1900 so the paper stocks are
just incredible.

My favourite product is our wooden table plans that we create for weddings. I think this shows how the screen printing process is more versatile than digital
printing and we also supply these plans with stickers so the table plan doesn’t have to be finalised up until the last minute which gives great flexibility.

We created a video that shows the process for printing our wooden table plans: https://vimeo.com/188961900

What have you made that you are most proud of?

We were very proud when we launched our first collaboration with the V&A for their Shipping Exhibition. Our prints were a sell out and we restocked
every couple of weeks whilst the show was on. We have worked with them since on various bespoke prints for their shop and online shop.

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

We have our own website and also sell on nothonthehightstreet and etsy. We travel the county showcasing our wares at the best craft markets and print fairs and people travel to see us as they want
to rifle through all the lucky dips to pick up some mighty fine art prints. We promote all our new prints on Instagram and confirm markets on there
so give us a follow @basilandford

What will we be seeing from you next?

We are in the process of creating reversed printed mirrors but there are various processes that we are trying to perfect to ensure the product is perfect.
We are also going to launch a small collection of children T-shirts so watch this space.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Don’t undersell yourself. When we started we did so much for no money and people seem to take advantage and see a design service as something that can
be given away for free. Your time is your cost so ensure you get paid for your hard work. Also stick to your guns and create items that you love so
you remain passionate about what you do.

 

See more from Basil and Ford:

Website

Instagram

Not On The Highstreet

Etsy

 

Translating drawings into print doesn’t have to include scanning and digitally manipulating your design on a computer. By using opaque film markers onto
screen film we are able to skip the digital part altogether and create a photographic screen directly from the drawings you produce. This allows you
to work in full scale, even tracing other print layers or design elements so that they will fit exactly. 

To do this we need screen film and opaque pens. The
pens need to be dark enough to block the light when exposing the screen. Other pens may let too much light through and the screen will be over-exposed.
We’re using Zig Pens in four different nib types: fine, medium, brush and broad; as well as a Jacquard Film Marker. 

Screen film has a right and wrong side on which to print and draw. You can feel this with your finger tips: the correct side will feel slightly tacky and squeaky
whereas the wrong side will feel smoother. 

Use the different pens to draw onto the film. 

The different nibs yield different results and can be used in combination to achieve the look you want. 

When your drawing is ready you can make your screen. If you don’t want to do this yourself, ask us about producing a screen for you from your drawings. We are using an A4 90T screen to print on paper. 

A screen needs to be coated in sensitised photo emulsion using a coating trough and then dried in the dark. It is then exposed to UV light using an exposure unit, light box or lamp (or even the
sun!) with the film in between, blocking the light from certain areas of mesh. Different exposure units and lamps will need different exposure times
– if you’re trying this at home, experiment with exposure times first. 

Once the screen has been exposed it needs to be immediately rinsed with cold water. The water stops the emulsion from reacting to light. The design should
appear paler on the mesh. Rinse the screen until the drawn areas let light through and return to mesh colour (in this case, yellow). A jet wash is
perfect for this if used gently but a shower or garden hose will work too. 

When the screen is dry, tape round the edges to block off any unwanted open areas of mesh. The screen is then ready to be printed. If you’re printing onto fabric, the screen can
be placed directly onto the fabric on top of a padded table. If printing on paper, it’s best to have a ‘snap off’ – a slight gap between your mesh
and your paper. Vacuum tables or hinge clamps are perfect for this as they provide snap off whilst holding the screen in place, making it easy to register
your print. If you don’t have this equipment, read on for an easy at home way to print onto paper without the use of a vacuum table or hinged board. 

We have set up our print area on a padded surface just like the ones we would use to print onto fabric. A blanket has been tightly stretched around a board
and then covered in cotton. For right handers, place a piece of newspaper on the right hand side of your work space with your ink and squeegee on top. Left handers reverse this. Place your squeegee on a little plinth such as an empty tape roll to keep the ink from
spreading over the handle. 

To create our snap off we can use mount board. Tape a little piece of mount board to the base of each corner of the screen – this will keep our mesh slightly
away from the paper. 

Place the paper on the board – we’re using Kent. Arrange
the drawn film on top of the paper. Use masking tape to mark the edges of the paper. Then place the screen on top, lining the design on the screen
with the design on the screen film. Mark the corners of the screen position with masking tape. 

This method will allow us to place both the paper and the screen down in the same place each time with the print placed correctly on the paper. 

Remove the film and place the screen down on top of the first piece of paper. Use a spatula or spoon to put a layer of ink along the top edge of the screen,
just a little wider than the design. (If you prefer to flood away from you, place the ink at the bottom of the screen instead).

With one hand holding the screen still, gently use a squeegee at a 45 degree angle to drag the ink down the screen (or push upwards and away from you if flooding from the bottom).
Don’t press hard at this point. We are using a grey ink mixed from acrylic paint and acrylic screen printing medium mixed in a 50:50 ratio. 

Continue to hold the screen still with one hand. Scrape the excess ink off the squeegee using the bottom edge of the screen. Bring your squeegee to the
top of the screen and pull it down the mesh again, this time pressing hard downwards. You should hear a tent zip sound and your design should appear.
Check that there are no shiny areas of your design left – if there are, pull the squeegee down hard again. 

Peel the screen away from the board. You may need to peel your paper gently from the mesh. Place a new piece of paper in the marked position and repeat
the printing steps again for another print until you’re happy with your print run. Use a spatula to remove any excess in from the screen and then wipe
the mesh with a soft, cold, damp sponge. Finally, rinse your screen in cold water with a garden or shower hose. 

For this project you will need:

• Screen Film
• Zig Pens and a
  Jacquard Marker Pen
• Aluminium Screen
• Photo Emulsion and Sensitiser
• Coating Trough
• Exposure Unit (or light such as a work lamp)
• Shower hose, garden hose or jet wash
• Parcel Tape
• Padded surface
• Masking Tape
• Mount Board
• Screen Printing Ink (or Acrylic Paint and Acrylic Screen Printing Medium)
• Squeegee
• Spatula
• Paper to print on such as Kent

I studied painting and printmaking at Hull College of Art and London University in the early 1960s. I taught etching, screen-printing, linocut and related
surface printmaking at Keswick Hall College in Norfolk. Later I moved to the University of East Anglia where I continued teaching in the School of
Education until 2006.

I am based in South Norfolk. I have exhibited regularly in London and many of my etchings and linocuts are in private collections, here and abroad. More
recently I have returned to linocuts, enjoying the strong physical nature of this medium. My linocuts are inspired mainly by the landscape of East
Anglia. Effects of light and colour, weather and atmosphere contribute to the final linocut. Recent work has been inspired by observing the changing
fields and wildlife through the seasons. Coastal prints are inspired by Norfolk and Suffolk waterways.

All prints are in limited editions. I enjoy the challenge of cutting lino with a certain freedom in the cutting strokes. I also find printmaking fascinating
when I blend and graduate colours. This gives me an opportunity to play with light and shade, much as I first saw it in the subject that inspired the
idea.

The Albion press pictured above is a copy of one made in 1854. It was cast and constructed by Harry Rochat Ltd in 2013.

Describe your printmaking process.

I create a KEY block and usually two other lino blocks are used. These are REDUCTION blocks so there can be up to six printings. I blend colours and finish
with the black key block. My starting point is always a drawing or sketch on paper. I then draw this in reverse directly onto the lino using a blue
spirit marker pen. Nothing is ever traced as I like to make changes from the first drawing to the final reverse image. I print using oil-based inks
on my Albion press which is a copy of an 1854 press but cast in 2013 by Harry Rochat based in Barnet, London. As I use a reduction block method, this
means the whole edition of 45 or 50 must be printed at the same time.

How and where did you learn to print?

I learned at art school where I had a very good teacher, Simon Goldberg. If he were still alive he would be aged 102 so I cannot thank him as much as I
would have liked. He taught me etching, screen print, wood block, lithography and lino printing.

Why printmaking?

I do paint, but a painting is never really finished so I am tempted to tweak and make changes. Printmaking has a process which suits me well and I love
the challenge of colour blends I can achieve. I also like the developed skill of cutting details.

Where do you work?

I have my own studio in South Norfolk. This is a room in the house, so I come downstairs and everything is available to work.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

My days are not typical, but I have to set aside a very long day to print enough for a full edition. When prints are drying, I turn to my silver jewellery
workbench and make pendants, rings, earrings and bangles.

How long have you been printmaking?

I have been printmaking since I was aged 17 and never stopped.

What inspires you?

I live in the country, so see hares, march harriers, farmland and of course trees. I can watch the changes in the seasons and the nearest farm is only
a few yards away. I am also inspired by old boats and the coast in Norfolk and Suffolk.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

My favourite printmaking tool is probably my Rochat press. Leon Rochat has looked after my printing presses for well over thirty years, and recently we
had lunch together for old times sakes, along with his wife and daughter. A more skilful print engineer I have yet to meet.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I am quite proud of having made eight violins, but if you mean prints, it is often the most recent work that I like.

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

I exhibit at Snape Maltings, Suffolk each year and in Southwold. I also have some work in Blakeney, Norfolk. I can Parcelforce unframed but flat mounted
work. 

What will we be seeing from you next?

Well, I’m working on a piece at the moment which has swans and reflections in the water. My more typical images are rural landscapes often including starlings,
rooks and hares.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

The best advice is never to stop working. If you want colours to be registered perfectly, talk to, or email a printmaker who really knows how to do this.
There is nothing worse than poorly registered lino blocks. Learn to sharpen your lino cutters yourself as they must be razor sharp to produce professional
work.

Find more of Rob’s work on his Facebook page.

 

It’s important to take care of your exposed screen so that it can last for multiple print runs. With proper care, you should be able to use your screen again and again until you’re ready to have it washed off and a new design exposed. The amount of time your screen can be used depends on many things, including how you care for it, the inks you are using and the detail on your design.

Read on for a list of rules and advice on taking care of your exposed screen:

• Never let ink dry in your mesh. Once ink has dried it can be almost impossible to remove, especially if you want to keep your emulsion intact. Zest-it Printmaker’s Washdown can help remove dried in ink but this may not remove all of it. Sometimes a jet wash will remove some of the ink but this will damage your emulsion. Usually, if ink dries in the screen it will cause a permanent blockage and might need to be re-meshed. Opaque inks and metallic inks tend to dry a little faster than standard screen printing inks.

• Keep a bucket of cold water and a soft car sponge with you whilst you work. This helps to prevent any ink drying in the screen. After a print run or when pausing from printing for a tea break or to organise your next prints, wring out the sponge and gently wipe over the mesh on both sides. You should see the ink leaving the design and light should start to show through. At this stage don’t worry about cleaning the taped edges of the screen too much. This way, your mesh stays clean but you don’t have to re-register your frame or wait for ages for the screen to dry. This is particularly useful when printing with hinge clamps or a vacuum bed.

• Clean your screen with cold water using a garden hose or shower hose. You don’t need a pressure hose – this could damage the emulsion. Don’t use any cleaners, chemicals or soaps.

• Use only soft sponges to clean your screen. Don’t use brushes. Use separate sponges so they do not become contaminated with other chemicals and solutions that could damage your emulsion.

• Take off the tape after each print run. Usually, we need to tape the edges of our screen to cover up areas of open mesh. Occasionally, we also may tape over other areas of the screen. It’s important that this tape doesn’t stay on for too long as it gets harder and harder to remove. Try not to put any tape over areas of the design. Use magazine pages to cover these up when printing instead if necessary. It’s best to gently remove the tape after each print run or at the end of the day.

• Keep your screen away from any sharp corners or objects as they can pierce the mesh.

• Sometimes pinholes may appear in your screen. The emulsion can wear and little holes can appear that may let ink through to your print. Occasionally, these appear on a newly exposed screen. If this happens, the holes can be easily filled with sensitised emulsion or screen filler. Just paint a small, thin patch over the hole and leave to dry. You can also use a little piece of tape to cover any emulsion holes if you prefer.

• Store your screen out of strong sunlight. Occasionally, emulsion can super-harden if exposed to too much light. This makes the emulsion almost impossible to remove which can be frustrating when you’re ready for your next design.

• Use only suitable inks: pre-mixed screen printing inks such as Speedball Fabric Ink, Speedball Acrylic Ink or Permaset can be used straight out of the pot. If you want to print with acrylic paint you’ll need make a mix that is at least 50% acrylic screen printing medium for printing onto paper or textile screen printing medium for printing onto fabric. For printing onto fabric you can also use pigment and binder.

For more information on our exposed screen service, click here or read our custom screen terms and conditions.

I’m Marian and in short I’m a Mother of three, allotment neglecter and printmaker, I live in my native West Wales on the side of a hill in Ceredigion.
I dabble with screen printing, wood cuts the odd bit of lino but collagraphs are my thing. 

 

Describe your printmaking process.

I’m a real night owl so all my ideas and plans tend to fill my head when I should be drifting off to sleep, I’m not one for sketch books although I’m trying
to make an effort as my head is so full, more ideas than time at the moment which is a great position to be in. I’ll draw out my plan or image onto tissue paper, as there is always an abundance of it (it’s used to wrap the damp prints in, to transport home from the print group safely and smudge free). Sometimes I draw straight onto mount board which I use as the plate for my collagraphs. The mount board is then worked into and onto, peeling away thin layers to reveal a more textured surface which holds the ink and gives you your darker tones The surface is also scratched and drawn into with controlled and haphazard lines, dots and marks (I like this bit a lot) highlights are added by applying glue to the surface. The mount board is then cut to shape, sealed with shellac and inked. The plate is inked intaglio, the ink is applied quite thickly and worked into the plate with gauze and then buffed away, firstly with yellow pages and then with tissue paper. The inking can take up to an hour for a larger piece but when ready it is sent through the press with damp paper. With one hand behind your back and fingers crossed you lift the paper for the reveal!

How and where did you learn to print?

My first taste of printmaking started early in Secondary School, we had a great art teacher (Huw Art) who had a printmaking degree from Loughborough. We
would make reduction lino prints with oil based inks, I can still remember washing my hands in white spirit! I also had the opportunity to take a printmaking
module on my foundation at CCTA Carmarthen; then that was it for years until I joined a local print group – Printers in the Sticks after the birth
of my first child Sam. It was an escapism for me, fast forward 7-8 years and two more children and I am about to embark on it full time, well as full
time as three children allows!

Why printmaking?

Because its the closest thing to magic that I know of.

I struggled with painting throughout my degree, never really achieving my desired aesthetic, I now understand why, I was in the wrong discipline.

I love the process and the fact that there is a guiding hand and a printing technique to fulfil. It meets all of my aesthetic requirements. although my
prints are predominantly collagraphs I do like adding a paper cut screen print or some blind embossing now and again.

Where do you work?

I feel very lucky to have a little studio in the garden although I feel much more comfortable calling it a shed. my husband built it and it has two equally
sized halves, a half each, its insulated and light and houses my little press and a beautiful plan chest that Andy managed to swap for an afternoons
work for a retired architect

Describe a typical day in your studio.

At the moment I only have one whole (school day) free to work which is a Wednesday and they usually go a little like this.

I pop my paper in to soak before dropping the kids at school and with the child minder, I call in for a cuppa with my friend and fellow maker Sue of
notchhandmade and we talk of our weekly struggles and successes. I drool over her latest leather bag which she’s been making, then home to another
cuppa and to tackle the printing to do list , whilst listening to the radio. 3.30 comes around quick and depending on my level of procrastination
for that day I’ll pop back out to the shed after the kids bed time to finish off. Most of my plate making and admin is done in the house in the
evening or whilst the kids play.

How long have you been printmaking?

Off and on since my early teens, but more seriously for the past two years.

What inspires you?

I find this hard to pin point, I’m very much a magpie and I’m easily distracted. I guess a running theme is nostalgia, memories of fishing with my father
and siblings, the discarded toys of my own children and more recently and so far unrealised the welsh tradition of quilt making.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

I love the paper the most, I use Fabriano Rosaspina and I’m very
partial to a tub of Neon Pink Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink, or Neon Yellow and really would like to get my hands on some Glow in the Dark.

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

I have an Etsy shop – etsy.com/uk/shop/marianhaf

I also have a permanent spot on the walls of Ultracomida Deli in
Narbeth.

A couple of prints can also be found at Lotti and Wren in Caernarfonand and 
Thyme and Tides in Aberystwyth.

I’m also currently a part of the ‘into the sea’ showcase in Mostyn Gallery in Llandudno and the soon
to be Art at the Hall ‘Surf, Sand and Sea Exhibition’   which runs from
the 25th of August to 8th of September in Llangathen, Carmarthenshire.

 

What will we be seeing from you next?

I think the fish, seafood and coastal aspect of my work is going to be sticking around. With the promise of more time in September I’d like to explore
my interest in traditional Welsh quilts and the nostalgia and melancholy they evoke in me.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Make time and go for it!

Website – www.mothermaker.com/store/marianhaf/

Instagram – @marianhaf

 

 

 

A rainbow roll is a great way to easily add a beautiful range of colours to a linocut. This project uses only two colours to create a range of shades,
all in one printing layer. 

We are using the jigsaw linocut technique to give us areas of different colours. We want our background to be completely white so instead of carving it
out let’s cut it out!

Japanese Vinyl is a lovely block to carve – it has some resistance like traditional lino but allows you to glide around carves very easily. It’s also soft enough
to cut with a scalpel – perfect for jigsaw linocuts.

Begin by carving around the edge of your shape with a V gouge. We’re using Powergrip Tools which glide beautifully through this vinyl.

The V shaped groove creates the perfect line in which to run a scalpel. 

You’ll need to cut through the vinyl a few times before getting through to the other side. Be careful and don’t press too hard.

Use the scalpel to careful cut apart the separate pieces.

Carve finer details into the different shapes. The small U gouge is perfect for this. 

The larger U can be used to clear areas. 

The pieces should easily slot together.

Now we’re ready to create a rainbow roll. We’re using Caligo Safe Wash Relief Inks in Process Magenta and Process Yellow. The process colours are designed to mix to create a wide spectrum
of shades.

Place a small blob of each colour of ink a little apart on an inking plate. Don’t place them as far apart as your roller width as we need room for it to
spread. We want a thin suede-y layer of ink that doesn’t sound squelchy.  

 

Gradually bring down the ink and begin to roll and spread it out. The colours will start to meet in the middle. Slightly adjust your roller’s position
left and right to encourage a blend. The more you more the roller from side to side, the more of the blended colour will fill the centre. Have the
size of the lino in mind if you want to print with the full spectrum of colours in your rainbow. 

 

 

Use the rainbow roller to roll a blend across the lino. 

We mixed an orange from our Process Magenta and Process Yellow inks and used a separate roller to ink up our orange. 

The parasol was inked up with a smaller roller in Process Magenta mixed with a little Extender. 

Place the lino down onto a board. You may want to use registration marks such as these masking taped corners. 

Slot the pieces together, trying not to touch the inked surface. 

Place the paper down on top and use a baren to take a print. Press hard all over the back of the paper making sure not to miss any areas of lino. 

Lift the paper to reveal a print!

The blocks can then be taken apart, re-inked and re-printed. 

For this project you will need:

• Japanese Vinyl (or a carving block of your choice)
• Pencil
• Cutting tools
• Anti-slip matting (optional)
• Cutting Board
• Scalpel
• Inking plate
• Rollers
• Palette knives
• Caligo Safe Wash Relief Ink
• Masking tape (optional)
• Paper to print on
• Bamboo baren