I’m Bailey, the artist behind Young Schmidt Prints. I’m American but living in the UK with my husband and our two dogs, Murph and Eddie. I consider myself
an illustrator and printmaker, but most of my days right now are filled with botanical-inspired linocut prints. I absolutely love houseplants and greenery,
and my art very much reflects that.

Describe your printmaking process.

I always begin by sketching on my iPad, but from there it can go two different directions. Sometimes I go from sketch to print in a matter of days because
the idea comes naturally and I’m able to draw exactly what I pictured. Most of the time my process is a bit more sporadic. I abandon ideas halfway
through, and then pick them up weeks later when I’m struggling for new inspiration and hope they come together. The initial sketch is always the hard
part for me because I overthink my design and I’m still too intimidated to draw directly onto lino. Once I start carving though, the rest of the process
feels effortless.

How and where did you learn to print?

I learned to print a bit by chance. I had been admiring several printmakers on social media for a long time, and briefly mentioned to my mother that I’d
be interested in giving it a go. She happened to have a beginners printmaking kit laying around the house somewhere so I was able to jump right into
it. I experimented and practiced for a long time, but about a year ago is when I really got into the botanical prints that I’m creating today.

Why printmaking?

There’s something so therapeutic about printmaking that really captured me. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so it’s a craft that really forces me to let
go. I obsess over the initial sketch of my design and tweak it until I think it’s perfect, but the rest of the process is somewhat out of my hands.
I’ve learned to accept the inevitable imperfections that come from printmaking, and I really enjoy how they make a piece look truly handmade.

Where do you work?

I work from home in a little studio space set up in the back of my house. I’m lucky to have an area with loads of natural light so I can work all day and
my houseplants around me absolutely thrive.

Describe a typical day in your studio.

Generally I try to drink a coffee and catch up on emails in the morning, then take the afternoon to create and print. It’s a nice routine in theory, but
it rarely happens that way. Like every artist knows, creativity happens when it happens and sometimes I feel like I have to run with an idea before
I lose momentum, which means all of the admin gets put on the back burner. I’m still learning the balance of making art and selling art because each
requires a whole lot of attention. It’s also worth saying that a typical day in my studio involves being interrupted by my dogs constantly, which is
both distracting and adorable.

How long have you been printmaking?

I first started experimenting with printmaking about two years ago, but I’ve been working on it seriously for just about a year now. I’m actually coming
up on the one year anniversary of opening my online shop in mid-August so that’s a milestone for me!

What inspires you?

I’m very inspired by foliage and flowers. I’ve definitely caught the “urban jungle” bug so my house is full of houseplants, most of which I’ve drawn or
printed at some point. I like how leaf patterns look when they’re simplified into a monochromatic print, so I tend to go for plants that already have
unusual marks. I’ve also been drawn to regional flowers from around the world. Australia especially seems to have some beautiful flora that is really
fun to capture in a print.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

I have a lino press from a company called “Woodzilla” that I’m absolutely in love with. I was doing prints by hand, but was struggling to get the consistent
results I wanted. The press has been perfect for me because it prints up to an A3 size, but fits on a tabletop so it’s ideal for my home studio. My
prints are much cleaner now and I can get more printed in a session.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

One of my first prints was “Monstera Obliqua” which was really the kickstart for my whole aesthetic. It was the first piece that I knew I finally had a
direction I wanted to go, and still inspires me today. It’s still one of my most popular prints with customers and I’m really proud of it. I don’t
know if it’s my best artistic work, but it’s a special print to me for those reasons.

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

I sell online on my website www.youngschmidtprints.com. I’m also really active
on Instagram so there’s always pictures of new work and process videos showing my printmaking techniques. I plan on getting involved with a lot more
markets this holiday season so I’ll hopefully be making some appearances around the UK too.

What will we be seeing from you next?

More colour, definitely. I’ve been very comfortable in my black and white bubble, but I’m starting to branch out and introduce more colour to my collection.
As we speak I’m working on a mixed media piece that will involve painting between layers of printing that I’m really excited about.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

It’s the cliche one, but practice. I spent so much time scrolling through instagram admiring other artists and wishing I had their talent, but didn’t do
anything about it. Once I finally got to work, I grew tremendously. I’m amazed at how much I’ve grown in just a year and I’m already at a place where
these artists I once admired are now my peers. Another thing I would suggest is to just put your art out there. It’s easy to doubt your own ability
when the internet is saturated with talented people, but you have to just go for it. People are really encouraging and involving yourself in a creative
community makes it easier to trust your own skills.

Website: www.youngschmidtprints.com

Instagram: @young.schmidt.prints

 

We often talk about creating digital images to make exposed screens but there are a lot of ways to use hand drawn designs that bypass the need for computers
at all – hooray! Grain Mark Screen Film allows you to draw directly onto a screen film whilst maintaining all your lovely textural marks. Charcoal and black oil pastels work particularly
well. Here’s a project using Grain Mark Screen Film to print some fabric:

Use charcoal and oil pastels to draw your design on the rough side of the film.

Degrease and dry a 43T meshed screen and coat with sensitised photo emulsion. Dry in the dark. When dry, expose your design onto the screen using an exposure
unit or light. 

When your design is exposed, wash your screen with a hose. The marks should wash clean, leaving open areas of mesh for the ink to pass through. 

This type of screen film is a little more unpredictable than a digitally printed screen film. Lots of texture is achieved from our charcoal and oil pastel
marks. 

Pin out your fabric on a slightly padded surface. We use an old army blanket tied down with a piece of thick cotton on top. Tape the edges of your screen
with parcel tape.

If you’re printing a repeat pattern, you can use the screen and the film to mark out where the screen should be placed each time. Place the film where
you want your pattern to be printed. Place your screen on top and use masking tape to mark two of the corners. Lifting your screen up slightly at one
end, remove the film and slide it beside the pattern on the screen. You can see how it will meet the previous print through the translucent mesh. Move
the screen on top so the pattern lines up and mark the corners again. Do this all along one row of your fabric.  

With the screen in its first position, scoop a row of ink along the top edge of the screen. Use your squeegee at a 45 degree angle to drag the ink down
the screen, pushing it through the mesh. This movement should sounds like a tent zip. 

Your print should have some great texture – this one has even more because of the rough linen used. 

 

Lift your screen and place it down in position 3 using your masking tape markers. We’re skipping position 2 so that we don’t place the screen on top of
a wet print!

Continue along the row in alternative positions. 

 

When you’ve finished your row you can go back to print the gaps in between. If your prints are still very wet you can scoop the excess ink back into the
pot and use a well wrung out soft car sponge to gently wipe the ink out of the mesh on both sides. This will ensure that no ink will dry on your screen
whilst you’re waiting for your print to dry. This is a great practice to use when you’ve got to take some time between prints to re-pin fabric, re-lay
t-shirts or just for a tea break!

When you’re ready, ensure your screen is dry. You can gently wipe with a tea towel to remove any drips. Place your screen down in position 2 and print
as before. Move the screen to print in all the gaps left along your row.

 

 

Wipe down and dry your screen again and then use the same method to mark out the positioning of your next row. 

Print along the row as before, in alternative positions…

 

…and then back along again filling in the gaps. 

Your final fabric should be a repeat pattern such as this! You could also use your print in a random scattered pattern or on its own! When your prints
are dry they can be ironed to fix the ink. 

To print your own fabric you will need:

• Grain Mark Screen Film
• Charcoal 
• Black oil pastel
• 43T screen
• Squeegee
• Exposure unit (or light set up to expose screens)
• Dark place to store your drying screen
• Hose or wash out booth
• Parcel tape
• Padded surface
• Pins
• Fabric to print on
• Fabric Screen Printing Ink
• Spatula
• Masking Tape
• Iron

 

I am a painter and printmaker based in London.

Describe your printmaking process.

I am mainly a linocut printmaker. I enjoy the straightforward process of cutting and printing a piece of lino as there is very little complicated procedures as there are in older forms of printmaking such as etching and lithography for example. You can basically set up a little printmaking studio on your kitchen table if you want to try making a linocut as there is no need for complicated equipment. Having said that, I do have a large Albion press, five plan chests etc. so things can get out of hand…

Generally, the established method is to start with the lightest colour and proceed through to the darkest but I prefer to use a dark colour first and then use more and more transparent layers of ink to create many different tones and shades of colour.

How and where did you learn to print?

I studied for a degree in Fine Art (painting) at art college and part of the course was spending a term printmaking. Although I didn’t catch the printmaking bug at the time as I was more painting with the painting process, I finally enrolled on a printmaking course at an adult education centre and I was hooked!

Why printmaking?

Printmaking is a great way of ringing the changes in your art practice. I paint and printmake and find the process of one will often inform and enhance the other. What this generally means is that when I am really fed up with, say, a painting, I can turn it to the wall and go and do a linocut!

Where do you work?

I have my studio at Thames Side Studios in Woolwich which overlooks the Thames Barrier. It is a complex of 300 plus studios and I find it helpful to go out to work as I am too easily distracted at home, with dogs, tortoises, the garden etc. – the list is very long!

Describe a typical day in your studio.

A typical working day starts, as I am sure it does with most printmakers, with a cup of tea (or two). I catch up with news with my fellow printmaker and
studio mate, Louise Davies, and then we both get to work. She is an etcher so it’s very interesting to compare notes on our different approaches to
our work. I work through the day and come home when I feel like it, which is one of the perks of being self employed! 

How long have you been printmaking?

I have been printmaking for about 20 years and before that I mostly painted.

What inspires you?

I get most of my inspiration from those often ignored corners of London. We all spend such a lot of time these days on our mobile devices with our headphones in, that we often have ‘no time to stand and stare’ as the poem, Leisure, by WH Davies expresses so well. This is why I love stations of all kinds so much – people are so focused on getting to their destination that they are not really aware of their surroundings. I like to watch people as they’re travelling from one place to another as they are often preoccupied and unguarded.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

My favourite printmaking product is my drying rack. It’s the sort that has marbles suspended in a wooden frame and it’s such a simple yet clever idea and I often admire that unknown person’s ingenuity in inventing it as I hang my prints up to dry.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I’m always most proud of the latest print I’ve made because it’s fresh and I haven’t had to edition yet. Of course it’s soon superseded by the next one, as it should be. That’s why we all keep working I guess!

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

I have a number of galleries who stock my work and I have a list of those on my website: www.gailbrodholt.com. I will also sell unframed work to be sent through the post if needed.

What will we be seeing from you next?

I’m working (very slowly!) on an idea which involves the south circular road in London. It is a very busy thoroughfare but parts of it are lined with modest semi-detached half timbered 1930s houses with little lawns and roses around the doors. It’s an interesting contrast with the roaring lorries and buses etc. that endlessly thunder past their front doors.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

My only advice really is to keep working. Try to do a little every day if possible and not be discouraged by rejection. So many talented printmakers don’t get the recognition they deserve because they get put off by how hard it can be. I guess you need to develop a thick skin.

To see more of Gail Brodholt’s work:

www.gailbrodholt.com

Twitter: @gailbrodholt

Instagram: @gail_brodholt

 

 

People often want to screen print photographic images and hope to use black and white photographs for this. To do this you need an exposed screen. The way screen printing works is the mesh either has to be open or closed (ink passes through the open areas but cannot pass through the closed areas) therefore grey tones do not work. To make a photographic image work we have to fool the brain into thinking that there are grey areas.

We’ve put together this guide to show you a few ways to use Photoshop to get a tonal image ready for a screen. One of the ways in which to do this is by using a halftone – where the greys in an image are broken down into black and white dots.

Read our guides below for information on how to create a halftone in Photoshop, how to create a ‘cutout’ black and white image and how to get an image ready for halftone software.

If you’re getting an image ready for a Custom Exposed Screen to be made by Handprinted, we can create the halftone for you! Just send us a greyscale PDF and your imagewill go through our software:

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Preparing an image for Handprinted’s halftone software

In order to get your image ready for a halftone it will need to be changed into greyscale mode. To do this in Photoshop, go to Image – Mode – Grayscale. You’ll then be asked if you want to discard all colour information so click Yes. 

Halftones will work better on images with lots of contrast. To make your image more contrasted you can use Levels. Go to Image – Adjustment – Levels (or Control+L). Drag the three triangles beneath the graph until you achieve the desired effect. The left arrow controls the dark tones, the middle arrow the mid tones and the right arrow the lightest tones. When you’re happy with the image, click OK.

We require that you send your artwork on an A sized portrait PDF. If you want an A4 screen, we need an A4 PDF. To do this, open a new A4 document. Go to File – New. Choose International Paper on the Preset drop down menu. Change Size to A4 (or A3 if using an A3 screen). Make sure your resolution is set to 300 pixels/inch.

You can then drag your image onto the new document. Use the top arrow on your vertical toolbar. The tool should look like an arrow with a cross beside it. Use the tool to click on the image and then drag your image onto your new tab (probably called Untitled-1). You can then change the size of your image on the document by dragging the corners. Holding down the shift key will ensure that you don’t stretch the image out of shape.

If you need your image to be a specific size, change the size before you drag it onto the new document. Go to Image – Image Size. Make sure the resolution is at 300 pixels/inch and then change the document size. You can then drag it onto the new document and keep it at the correct size.

You can then save your new document as a PDF by choosing Photoshop PDF in the Format drop down menu.

Our software at Handprinted will then change your image into a halftone which will look something like this:

We can expose this onto a screen for you, or send you the screen film to use yourself.

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Using Cutout to create a full black and white image

Another way to use Photoshop to create a full black and white image is to use the Cutout filter. You’ll need to change your image to greyscale first  (as above) by going to Image – Mode – Grayscale and clicking Yes when asked if you want to discard all colour information. You can then change the  levels in the image (as above) using Image – Adjustments – Levels. 

 Select to Filter – Artistic – Cutout. A box will pop up giving you some options. We need the Number of Levels to be 2 (just black and white). You can move the sliders for Edge Simplicity and Edge Fidelity until you’re happy with the result. You’ll probably want the simplicity to be at 0 to get the most detail out of the image.

You’ll end up with an image that is completely black and white. It will have lost a lot of detail compared to a halftone image but it will be bolder and
easier to print, especially on a more open mesh (43T-77T) or onto fabric.

Different images will work give varying degrees of success. This image is more suited to this style:

We can change the Levels (Image – Adjustment – Levels) to give us more contrast…

…and use the same filter (Filter – Artistic – Cutout).

These images can then be changed to the correct size (Image – Image Size – 300 pixels/inch) and dragged onto a new document (File – New) ready to be printed onto a screen film or emailed to us at Handprinted.

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Creating a halftone in Photoshop

When you create your own halftone you have a little more control over the outcome of the image. However, if you’re having the screen made  elsewhere (for example by us at Handprinted) you’ll need to check that you’re image is not too fine to be exposed onto a screen and you’ll need to be aware that you may not get all the detail onto the screen.

You’ll need to start with a greyscale image. Go to Image – Mode – Grayscale and then select Yes. 

Change your Levels for a more contrasted image if you like (Image – Adjustment – Levels). Make any changes to the size now, or drag your image onto a new correct sized document and then you’re ready to change to a halftone. In Photoshop it is called Bitmap Mode. Go to Image – Mode – Bitmap. You’ll then have options for how you would like to proceed. You want your Output to be 300 pixels/inch. For Method choose Halftone Screen…

Your Frequency should be around 45 – 55 lines/inch. Choose your Shape – this will be the shape of the dots. We’ve gone for Round. 

The higher the DPI (dots per inch), the more detailed your image will be in Bitmap Mode. This mode can be a little tricky though as, once it’s been converted, you cannot drag the image onto another document or easily change the size without distorting your halftone or losing detail – ensure you make these changes first and change to Bitmap Mode last.

For check your image is ready to be made into a screen, take a look at our artwork requirements for exposed screens or for more information, email us!

I am John Bloor, part time print maker and part time graphic designer. The amount of time I get to spend on each depends entirely on whether I have work
or not!

Describe your printmaking process

I always start by sketching in my book and at some point move onto the computer to develop the ideas into something more finished. I have a lot of anxiety
and find that working digitally is just something I need to do at the moment to help with that. I’d love to be able to work in natural media and take
that directly to print but I just don’t trust myself. So I tend to draw using my Wacom tablet in a style I call digital linocut. It allows me to closely
mimic real linocut and get a finished illustration that I’m happy with. The irony is that I then have to transfer that design to lino and cut it for
real – which allows me a chance to reinterpret the illustration and cut it properly.

So if I’m doing a linocut I then transfer the illustration to lino using old fashioned tracing paper and pencil. It’s laborious but it works. I then spend
time cutting the lino which I enjoy immensely and am very careful with. Once the lino is cut I move down to the print studio (garage) where I spend
time mixing the ink and once I’m happy with everything I will start printing.

If I’m screen printing I get the illustration colour separations printed onto acetate and then it’s off to the print studio to cut paper and mix inks.
I usually build up to printing at the weekends, so by the time I get to the weekend everything is ready, all inks mixed, paper cut and screens made.

My weekends are set aside for print making and I very much enjoy the routine you get into with printing.

How long have you been printmaking?

I’ve been printing seriously for about four years. And by seriously I mean continually going through the process of developing new ideas into finished
illustrations and then printing them.

How and where did you learn to print?

I honestly can’t remember the exact order but at some point in the past I got a screen printing kit. One of the ones which comes with a wooden framed screen,
a squeegee, some screen block and some ink. Oh and an apron which they suggest you print your first design on. So I must have done some rudimentary
printing. I seem to remember drawing and printing some alliums.

Anyway, roll on a couple more years and I was doing gig poster artwork for a friend and was very inspired by gig poster artists who screen printed their
posters – such as Strawberryluna, Cricket Press and Methane Studios. I went on a one day screen printing workshop at Badger Press where I learned how
to coat and expose a screen, plus printing technique. I started to try and print gig posters without much luck! I’d made real progress but there were
a few things going wrong I didn’t realise at the time. I was trying to print onto paper but the inks I was using were really thin, plus the squeegee
I had was a soft one and entirely unsuitable for paper printing.

Slowly, incrementally, I got better. I continued screen printing and also tried my hand at lino printing. I took yet another one day workshop, this time
at Squeegee and Ink in Newbury. That was when things really clicked into place. They helped me with my technique and finally I was able to really start
producing great quality prints.

While I had to get advice for screen printing, lino printing was a lot easier to pick up and I’ve managed to teach myself. It’s much more forgiving than
screen printing. I started cutting lino with some very cheap cutters and a tube of black ink, printing with the back of a spoon. You can’t get much
simpler!

Screen printing has been quite painful, in a way, but I’m glad I’ve made the journey. There were many small things which would have been useful to know
at the start – like how you need a hard squeegee for printing on paper, how you really want inks which don’t run all over the place and how flooding
the screen is vital to a good print (and it’s always better to have a lot of ink to flood with rather than too little).

There are still many things for me to learn but I’m so happy with how my prints are looking now, I’m far less stressed about it than I used to be.

Why printmaking?

Well I started off printing homewares because I thought I saw an opportunity; a gap in the market to make desirable things. It was only after a couple
of false starts and unhappiness that I started to realise I needed to create work for myself in order to feel good about it.

So, to put it simply: nowadays I make prints because it’s good for my mind. It occupies my head, my thoughts and is a great way to pass time I might otherwise
be worrying about things. I also enjoy trying to capture the essence of something – some place or journey perhaps – in the form of a print.

Also I think I enjoy printmaking because it brings together two disciplines I love: graphic design and illustration. I love the boldness and power of prints
but the fact that they are tactile and feel like a piece of art.

I enjoy screen printing because of the bold, graphical nature and fantastic detail of the prints. It encourages daring and experimentation with reproducing
all sorts of natural media style marks and overprinting of colours to create other colours.

On the other hand, I think I enjoy block printing because of the limitations and the fact that the cut shapes you make with gouges lend the pieces a certain
feel. You have to work hard to come up with a variety of marks and textures with block printing and that in itself is rewarding.

Where do you work?

It’s a bit of a joke really! I print in our garage, sharing the space with all the normal sort of stuff you might store in a garage. The only special thing
about the garage is that we have installed a large stainless steel sink which is great for making screens. It’s the opposite of photogenic but it is
functional.

Describe a typical day in the studio

I would start off by mixing ink and cutting paper if this hasn’t already been done. But I’m really organised so it usually has been! If I’m screen printing
then I would have made the screens the evening before. This is because my print studio garage is not light tight so unfortunately I have to wait until
after dark before I can coat the screens.

On printing days I prepare the first colour screen by clamping it to the base board with the hinge clamps. I then position the paper below the screen and
when I’m happy I put down a couple of plastic corners (made from credit cards) to register each sheet of paper. I then tape up the screen. I am ultra
careful about taping up the screen and I always do it so the way the tape overlaps means if ink ever gets under the tape it won’t get on the paper.
I love to use this blue tape called “R Tape” but it’s hard to get hold of in this country.

Once the screen is taped, registration corners are in place, ink is mixed and paper is cut then we are ready to print! I print each sheet with the first
colour and then hang it on my drying rack (which is actually just a bunch of metal foldback clips on lengths of string hanging from the ceiling!).

Once the first colour is printed it’s time to wash out the screen ensuring no ink residue is left. Printing ink onto paper usually dries really quickly
so it’s not long before I can take down all the sheets of paper and prepare the second screen for printing. The process is repeated for any further
colours.

What inspires you?

I’m very inspired by natural spaces and places around me, for example the river Test which is very close by where we live, and the countryside and hedgerows
of Hampshire. But I’m also very inspired by the coast, especially Cornwall where we holiday repeatedly out of a sheer love for the place.

I try to reinterpret these places in my work in various ways including fantasy, surrealism and abstraction.

If I’m allowed to talk about people who influence me I’m traditionally influenced by poster designers such as Strawberryluna, Daniel Danger, Cricket Press,
Jason Munn, Methane Studios and Jay Ryan. I admire their bold, graphical styles and in some cases the ability to convey meaning in the simplest of
forms.

More recently, in the last few years as I’ve got into block printing, I have discovered a whole new world of incredible artists such as Angie Lewin, Mark
Hearld, Bryan Angus, Holly Meade, Jane Ormes, Jeremy Speck, Maz Prints and Hugh Ribbons.

I’m amazed and impressed by the distinctive styles and textures which people like Angie Lewin and Bryan Angus have created for themselves.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

Wow this is the hardest question. I’d have to say modern polyester mesh screens are amazing inventions, allowing precise, clean, bold printing of colours
onto a variety of materials. Also Ternes Burton Co. registration pins and plastic tabs have allowed me to take a big step forward in registering colours
with my lino prints.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I think at the moment I am most proud of my “Tin Mine” screen print because it brings together so many important things for me. This is the print where
I started to experiment a little, where I got a bit more abstract but it still features a wealth of details which I really like. Also it’s the first
print where I completely nailed registration printing and I played around with overprinting colours quite a bit too, so these overprinted colours really
work well. There are some really subtle overprinting effects, like the mid blue and dark blue in the rock stack. This print is really a starting point
for my future work.

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

I will soon have my work in Craft Centre and Design Gallery Leeds. I expect to be in a few more galleries or shops soon. I’m just starting to approach
galleries and shops, as well as starting to apply to print fairs so I’m really hoping that 2019 will be the year I start to reach a wider audience.

I regularly do the Monthly Market at the Maltings, Farnham, and also the Festival of Crafts in October there.

My work is available to purchase on Folksy at: https://folksy.com/shops/JohnBloorDesign

It’s also worth mentioning that I have a blog which I regularly update with my work and also posts about people, prints and ceramics which inspire me.
My blog is at http://www.johnbloor.co.uk/

I’m on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/JohnBloorDesign and on Instagram @johnbloordesign

What will we be seeing from you next?

I have more prints coming in the series “Safe Harbours” which will include linocut and screen prints. I am also excited to be printing a couple of posters
which feature song lyrics I particularly like in combination with illustrations. I am a big fan of letterpress printing and these lyric posters will
emulate that look with really bold typography.

I have also already illustrated three sleeping animal prints which will be printed in time for the Autumn fairs. And if that isn’t enough I have a few
fun projects such as a tote bag featuring a shark and a t-shirt featuring a rabbit!

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

I think my advice is hang in there! Problems can always be solved either by asking around or by having a little tuition. Looking back, my learning process
has been quite slow and incremental and I’ve solved one problem at a time. Be patient and keep on printing! 

See more of John’s work:

Folksy: https://folksy.com/shops/JohnBloorDesign

Blog: http://www.johnbloor.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JohnBloorDesign

Instagram @johnbloordesign

 

 

 

 

Akua Carbundum Platemaking Gel is a great
new product that allows you to make high contrasted, textured intaglio plates. The gel can be screen printed onto a plate and printed with Akua Intaglio Inks. Drypoint Plastic makes a perfect plate with a wipe-clean surface.

 

To make our own Caborundum Gel plate we used an exposed screen.
A plain screen with an area sectioned off with tape also works well as the gel can be worked into when wet. A Thermofax screen may also be used.

Peel off the top piece of film from your drypoint plastic and place your plate underneath the image on your screen. Scoop a line of Carborundum Gel along the top of your screen. 

Use a squeegee to
pull the gel down the screen and push it through the mesh. Hold the squeegee at a 45 degree angle and press quite firmly for best results. Be careful
not to let your screen slide on the plate. 

Let your gel dry on the plate – around 20 minutes on a warm day seems to be enough. 

The Carborundum Gel can also be worked into whilst wet on the plate. We screen printed a large area of gel onto a plate using a screen exposed with a circle
but you could use parcel tape to tape off a square or rectangle. 

Whilst the gel is wet, work into it with brushes and other tools to leave marks.

You can also press textures into the gel. When you’re happy with the plate, leave to dry. 

When the plate is dry, peel off the back sheet of blue film.

Before inking, soak the paper – we’re using Snowdon. 

Roll a layer of Akua Intalgio Ink onto the plate. 

Use a wad of scrim to polish the plate, removing excess ink from the smooth areas of plastic. Use a piece of cloth or tissue paper to wipe any ink smudges
left on the plastic.

Blot the soaked paper. Place the plate facing up on an etching press with dampened paper on top. Cover with blankets and put through the press on a tight
pressure. 

Ink up your textured plates and print in the same way. 

Your plates can be washed up with a little water. If you want to reuse your plate for a new image, we have found that the gel can be gently removed with
white spirit or Zest-It (these kind of plates are therefore not suitable for printing with traditional oil based inks that require solvents for clean
up). 

To print your own Carborundum Gel plates you will need:

• Akua Carborundum Gel
• Aluminium Screen (or Thermofax)
• Parcel Tape
• Squeegee or
  (Thermofax Squeegee)
• Drypoint Plastic
• Tools for mark making in the wet gel
• Akua Intaglio Ink
• Inking Plate or Glass Slab
• Palette Knife
• Roller
• Scrim
• Cloth or Tissue
• Etching Press
• Paper to print onto such as Snowdon
• Tray to soak paper
• Blotting paper
• Zest-It or White Spirit (optional)

 

I’m a printmaker based in Edinburgh. I took up linocut as a hobby two years ago but it has grown arms and legs and is now my mini business.

Describe your printmaking process.

I mostly create architectural prints of the places I have lived in or visited. In a way it’s my diary! I work from photos which I then flip on my laptop,
sketch this reversed design onto battleship grey lino and then begin to carve. I like to fill in the block with black marker as I go, as this helps
me get a better idea of the image as it forms, and also helps to show up any missed spots which should have been carved away.

I don’t own a press so I pull all my prints by hand. A metal spoon and elbow grease get the job done!

How and where did you learn to print?

My first (brief) exposure to printmaking was when I was about 13 and at secondary school. Our art teacher introduced us to patterns from Liberty and taught
us how to make simplified versions using a polystyrene block. We drew on the block with ballpoint pens which compressed the polystyrene and then inked
these up using poster paint. Sadly, I dropped art as a subject soon after and didn’t make any more prints until about two years ago. This time I had
progressed to proper lino and the sharp chisels we were never allowed at school! Since then I’ve just been teaching myself, building upon the basics
that Miss Young taught us.

Why printmaking?

I really enjoy the graphic quality of linocuts and the bold images you can create. The process itself is also very meditative. I started linocut during
my final year of university and I found that sitting carving for an hour before bed was the perfect way to switch off and forget about my dissertation
stress.

Where do you work?

I work from my bedroom! I’ve put up a makeshift drying line up across one of my walls and another across my living room. Quite often my flat is just a
cloud of paper and half-dry prints…I have a very tolerant flatmate!

Describe a typical day in your studio.

I don’t really have a typical day. I usually just print as and when I have the time. Usually this is in the evenings after I finish work or at the weekend.

How long have you been printmaking?

Two years.

What inspires you?

I’m inspired by the city around me. I didn’t fully appreciate how beautiful Edinburgh is until I spent a year living abroad. When I came back, I was struck
by the cobbles, the old buildings and winding streets, and knew I wanted to recreate these on paper.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

It’s a toss-up between my Pfeil chisels and Caligo Safewash ink. I’m a big fan of the Prussian Blue ink which has appeared in a lot of my recent prints.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

I’m proudest of my print of Well Street in my hometown of Moffat. This was my second multi-layered reduction print….but the first that was the correct
way round! It’s a mistake we’ll all make at least once.

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

I post most of my work on Instagram (@maz.prints) and sell some on Etsy. 

What will we be seeing from you next?

I’m hoping to do some more pattern-based work on fabric. I made a hand printed skirt last year using Caligo Safewash ink and it came out really well so I’m hoping to design some new blocks and try my hand at making some cushion
covers and bags.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

I have found social media to be a very helpful source of both inspiration and support. The printmaking community on Instagram is particularly friendly
and everyone I’ve ‘met’ is very happy to provide advice on techniques and materials.

See more of Maria’s work on Instagram and Etsy!

When we think of screen printed artwork we tend to see bold areas of bright colour and graphic lines but there are lots of different styles that can be
achieved. By using graphite directly onto the mesh of a screen we can create loose, printed sketches that can be used for layering or as prints in
their own right.

This technique requires limited equipment. We’re using a screen attached to a board using hinge clamps to make printing and registration easier. We’re
using a 90T screen with an exposed aperture but a taped aperture would be just as good. 

You can trace drawings through the translucent mesh. Place your drawing underneath the screen. 

Use a graphite stick to draw directly onto the mesh. Use lots of graphite and goo back and forth over your lines. 

You can also use a soft pencil like a 6B or 8B. Make sure the point is not too sharp or it could damage the mesh. 

Use your nail to scatter flecks of graphite onto the mesh.

The drawing can be printed through with Acrylic Screen Printing Medium. Scoop an ink well along the top of your screen. Place a piece of paper underneath
your screen. 

Use a squeegee to pull the ink down the screen and force the graphite through to the paper. 

Your graphite drawing can be printed through several times using the acrylic medium and will become paler each time. When you’re finished, wash your screen
with cold water. 

To print your own graphite drawing you will need:

• 90T Screen
• Hinge clamps and board or table
• Squeegee
• Parcel Tape
• System 3 Acrylic Printing Medium
• Spatula or spoon
• Paper to print on
• Graphite stick
• Soft pencil

Describe your printmaking process. 

I do several things: I make etchings, where I concentrate on people’s expressions and the quality of the etched line and texture;

I also make wood cuts, which are rather larger and where I exploit the areas of flat colour and the strong wood cut line; and in the past I have made combinations
of the two. 

How and where did you learn to print?

I attended art college in the Netherlands where I had an inspirational print making tutor, but have evolved my own way of doing things since.

Why printmaking?

Where I grew up I was aware of the etchings of Rembrandt and the nineteenth century Dutch impressionist group The Hague School, and I loved them. I also
experimented with wood cut at college, but only a couple of years ago came back to it.

Where do you work?

At home, after my last move I decided that I would arrange the house just to my liking, so it is rather like a workshop with a bedroom attached (and a
bath room and a kitchen and a garden…)

Describe a typical day in your studio.

Up early, shower, check out the garden, coffee. Start work on whatever needs doing, from cutting a wood cut to working on new designs, scribbles in the
sketch book and water colour studies. A quick look at the emails. I usually work for an hour or so before breakfast, then carry on again. I am best
in the morning, so the creative stuff tends to get done then, the routine, like printing or sending off parcels later in the afternoon. If the weather
is good I will have lunch sitting on the step in the garden, looking out for bees and dragon flies. In the evening, after cooking something, I am usually
too tired to do complicated work, but, if I have some possibly bright idea, I will make a note to be worked on at a later date. Of course contact with
galleries, ordering materials, delivering work all takes up quite a bit of time too.

How long have you been printmaking?

Since my first days at college, in 1970.

What inspires you?

People. Almost anything can inspire me, things I see or am involved in, things I read or hear. The bible, poetry, Shakespeare, sometimes things just turn
up in my head. But it will almost always be something to do with people, I love landscape to look at and walk in, but fail to make anything exciting
out of it if I try to draw it.

What is your favourite printmaking product?

My etching presses. The big one is a kind of proto type Polymetaal which I bought when I first came to England, the little one a friend of mine, a brilliant
engineer, built for me.

What have you made that you are most proud of?

Hard to say. As soon as I have made something I start seeing the flaws in it. Some times I come somewhere where there is a piece of my work that I made
a long time ago and then it sometimes seems not too bad.

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

There is always my web site, www.fwstainedglass.com (I make stained glass too). As I am a
member of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, there is always something at the Bankside Gallery in London, at For Arts Sake in Ealing, Montpellier
gallery in Stratford, Twenty Twenty in Much Wenlock, Court Yard Gallery in Minehead, Primavera in Cambridge, McGillDuncan in Castle Douglas. My next
show will be Worcester Open Studios over the August Bank Holiday Weekend where I will be showing at 37 Vincent Road, Worcester, WR5 1AZ.

What will we be seeing from you next?

I am just working on a new wood cut. I saw a girl in the Netherlands on a skate board, cool as a breeze, being pulled along by her dog. So far it seems
to want fewer colours than I originally had envisaged. I am also experimenting with the stained glass, trying to make it without lead.

Do you have any advice for other printmakers and creatives?

Look for a proper job would be the sensible advice. But having said that, if you are prepared to take the rough with the smooth, it can be wonderful to
work to your own agenda, doing the thing you love doing best.

See more of Frans Wesselman’s work on his website. 

When designing artwork for exposed screens it can be very difficult to figure out what level of detail you can include. Different mesh counts will be able to handle different levels of detail.
The mesh number relates to how many threads there are per cm of mesh: 32T has 32 threads per cm, 120T has 120 threads per cm etc. Ideally, 43T mesh
is used for printing onto fabric and 90T is used for printing onto paper. We’ve put together a quick test to see what detail can be achieved on our
two most common meshes: 43T and 90T. 

We are often asked which font sizes are appropriate for each mesh but this is tricky to answer as different fonts come out at varied sizes and some have
thicker and thinner parts to the lettering. For this test we’ve used Calibri (a plain sans serif font) Time New Roman (a serif font) and Apple Chancery
(a calligraphy style font with thinner strokes) in sizes 8 to 22.

The same sheet of samples was exposed onto a 43T and 90T screen. Scroll down to see the results of our prints with these screens.

For prints on fabric we have used Speedball Fabric Screen Printing Ink in black. For prints on paper we have used Speedball Acrylic Screen Printing Ink
in black. These are both standard inks – opaque inks and metallic inks will be harder to force through the ink and block the mesh faster and are therefore
more suited to higher mesh count and less fine detail. 

Some of the areas have been halftoned through our rip software which turns grey areas into dots to give the illusion of tone. 

43T Mesh onto Fabric

We’re losing the detail on the font up until about size 14. The lettering on the right has been drawn with a 6px brush into Photoshop. 

90T Mesh onto Fabric 

90T mesh is not ideal for printing onto fabric as it puts down a lighter deposit of ink than a 43T. The prints can therefore appear paler and less bold.
We’ve got more detail here on the smaller font sizes but it’s not printing very well on the weave of the cotton – this print has also smudged!

43T Mesh on Paper

We’re still losing the detail up until font size 14. It’s putting down quite a heavy deposit of ink so it’s starting to blob a little in places with tiny
detail. 

 

90T Mesh on Paper

We’ve managed to get most of the detail in the size 8 font here, although this small size may start to dry fast so quick printing is a must!

 

43T Mesh on Fabric

This type of ont is a real problem on more open meshes as it has very thin areas that don’t expose well at all. 

 

90T Mesh on Fabric

We’ve got more detail but the font still isn’t great up until size 14. The 90T mesh also isn’t printing this evenly on the weave of the cloth.

 

43T Mesh on Paper

On paper it’s easier to see the areas where the font is too fine for a 43T mesh.

 

90T Mesh on Paper

It’s much clearer on a 90T mesh but we’re still missing the finest areas.

 

43T Mesh on Fabric

This font hasn’t exposed properly until about size 16.

 

90T Mesh on Fabric

The tiny serif lines are starting to show more but struggling to print on the fabric.

 

43T Mesh on Paper

We’ve lost some of the serif detail which isn’t clear until size 14.

 

90T Mesh on Paper

We’re getting good results from size 14 with legible results from size 12. These fine lines will dry ink quite quickly. 

 

43T Mesh on Fabric

Lines close together create vulnerable areas of emulsion and on more open meshes these areas will start to meld together. More may disappear as it’s printed
and washed. 

 

90T Mesh on Fabric

We’ve got much clearer paces between the lines

43T Mesh on Paper

90T Mesh on Paper 

43T Mesh on Fabric

The lines that are 1 pixel, 2 pixels and 3 pixels wide don’t come out on the screen at all. The 4 pixel wide line is faint and patchy. 

90T Mesh on Fabric

We’ve got an extra line on this mesh – the 4 pixel line is clear and the 3 pixel line is faint and patchy. 

43T Mesh on Paper

90T Mesh on Paper

43T Mesh on Fabric

Here we’ve created a gradient halftone through our rip software. The 43T mesh has given a grid distortion making the tone uneven.

90T Mesh on Fabric

On a 90T mesh the halftone is much more even with more detail as we go further down 

43T Mesh on Paper

90T Mesh on Paper

43T Mesh on Fabric

The grid pattern is prominent on this mesh give a moire effect. The palest grey halftone is barely there. 

90T Mesh on Fabric

The tone is much more even and we have much more detail on the palest tone. 

43T Mesh on Paper

 

90T Mesh on Paper

Order your own custom exposed screen here!