Don't think, just make.....

 You're probably looking at the above picture and thinking what on earth has she got in that bowl? Nothing but a hefty solution of Lapsang Souchong is the answer. I think I used the last 12 or so teabags in the box to tone some cyanotypes that I produced on Saturday afternoon.
I'd intended to do some printing but that plan went awry so I took advantage of some great sunny weather and made a few more cyanotypes with the dodgy solution that I made last year. Now every time I use it ,  it gets less and less predictable and I know I should throw it away but I can't seem to let it go. Somehow the imperfections of the process are what I am enjoying. I don't care that the blue isn't deep or that's it's patchy, I just love using it. Of the few that I made, one was a book cover I'd already constructed from watercolour paper and it turned out OK but I decided to try and tone them instead.

 Firstly I made a solution of washing soda to bleach out the iron in the blue but that did nothing so I resorted to good old household bleach  which turns the prints into yellow and white, although as you can see above, my book cover held on to some of the blue and it doesn't look that yellow! The results were not promising at this stage but then I placed them in the tea bath and  they all turned various shades of brown. As my whites were not that clear to start with there is not much definition between the lights and darks but I still like the random patchy effect of it all.

 Time now to make the book with the constructed cover and I'll probably do the same with the others after I've given them a coat of acrylic wax just to liven them up a little. I'll show the books when they are finished but that will be next week as I went back to the printing press today instead.

 I was intending to print some copper sulphate etchings but I  again got sidetracked with a simple little collagraph plate that I made recently.
I had a large A2 drawing that I cut into squares at random to see what serendipitous images I'd get and this was one of the shapes I was left with so I decided to make the simple plate as it reminded me of a tea bowl. Then my husband said he preferred it the other way up looking like a pot so that's where these will stay.... for now. I quite like them either way and have had  fun messing about with different viscosity mixes of ink all day. I think I've done about 20 prints and some are disastrous, whilst others have possibilities. Quite a few look like they will be interesting to draw into later or use for collage so I'll let them dry and go from there.

Today has been one of those days that remind you it's not about perfect outcomes. Unless you get out there and make something you'll end up making nothing. The majority of today's play will come to nought most probably but I feel itching to get back up there tomorrow and do some more. The last thing I did was print a couple of plates in metallic ink and then paint them immediately with indian ink to see if it would resist. Might work, might look rubbish but could be brilliant. Who knows? Whatever the result, it will lead my thinking onwards. Surely that can't be bad?