Miss Print

Whilst I make sure that I keep up with all the activities of the lovely blogs I follow, the same cannot be said for trying to keep up regular posts with my own. Taking two college courses at the same time means that I am quite busy with visiting exhibitions, studying and keeping up with the work I am trying to do at home.In recent weeks I have been doing lots of drawing, mainly of my own face , hence no photos! Whilst my drawing has improved with the practice I cannot inflict the shock of my boat race on the nation. I have become obsessed with looking at, and drawing faces, so much so that I decided to alter a book this week to act as a sort of mini sketchbook for them. The above photo is just the covers after I collaged lots of old prints and scrap paper over them. The inside pages are all gessoed or collaged and now waiting for me to pick out a few faces to draw within. I think it was really distraction activity rather than get on with another task I'd set myself for half term but I buckled down to it in the middle of the week and have spent a few days trialling some collagraph plates I'd made.

There is soon to be an open print exhibition locally and I decided to try and enter some prints this year. I may also be demonstrating whilst it is on, showing the gum arabic transfer technique taught to me by my pal and printmaking mentor Sue. The trouble is that every time I manage to get it right, I don't do it for ages and then have to re-learn it all over again usually with Sue's help. Yet again this week she has had to walk me through the process another time. That girl has the patience of a saint! The trouble is that I practiced it - and cracked it - with my own self portrait images so won't be showing those either! Instead, these images are of some collagraph proofs I've done in the last couple of days whilst I try to work out what prints to enter for the exhibition. The above circular plate was inked up with left over ink so the colours were not planned. I have to decide whether it works or not as an image. I think the answer is no in it's current guise but I have a few ideas for changing it.

I made a shed load of these pebbles last year and whilst placing them in a circle is not an original idea it might work if the frame and mount are well chosen. Sadly, whilst I was messing about with the gum arabic transfer I managed to cover the edge of this one with some linseed oil and putting a mount around the image will not disguise the greasy blob so this is one that will end up as collage fodder or work its way into a book maybe. It will join quite a few trials from this week on the reject pile, some of them so bad I am ashamed to show photos of them. The problem with me is that I don't start any printing session with a colour plan and I should. All too often I just pick a colour and make it up as I go along, or I just use up what's to hand rather than waste ink. Instead, I just waste time and paper! Hmmm.... I think I need to do this better in the future.

This was a plate I made on a whim just for texture and it has some possibilities but the handing in date for the exhibition is next Saturday and not only does any print I make have to dry, it also has to be framed in time. I think I may have left it all a bit last minute by being distracted by the drawing and self portrait stuff but when in doubt, falling back on a tried and tested idea might be the solution.

For me this means using a plate that I made about six years ago. I made it after coming home from my first collagraph workshop with Sue, using the germ of an idea that one of the other participants had suggested and produced. I used it once as an idea for a Christmas card and I printed a few examples of it this afternoon in different colourways, one of which I may get framed and submit.

Alternatively, I may try a few monoprint ideas tomorrow that I have floating around in my head. As time is not on my side if I want prints to dry, I may end up entering nothing in the exhibition but I have rekindled by enthusiasm for printing this week and that is far more important to me. I've also developed a real passion for drawing recently so that altered book is going to see some use in the next few days and weeks. One college course finishes next week thankfully but it is closely followed by the start of a sculpture module the week after so I might still be absent from this blog on a regular basis for a while. At least you know I'm not being idle.....