I have enrolled in the East London Print makers for an introduction to printmaking course which lasts 3 full days.
I have done 3 printmaking courses in the City Lit in the past and one screen printing in the London college of printing and communications but it has been almost 2 years since I did any print making related course so I thought to do this to refresh my memory.
I will record down what I did today in three parts, the morning is Lino cut, reduction print and the afternoon is Monoprint.
A note about ELP - the space is wonderful and very inspiring, with many art work hanging around that are both impressive and brilliant. Our tutor Ms Ann Norfield is also very knowledgable and helpful, making the day a very pleasant learning experience.
LINO PRINT - PROCESS
Very simple and straight forward process.
I did a sketch of a Penny farthing and used it as the basis of the sketch. Rather than just gauging out the lines I created some patterns to make it more interesting. Basically the process is rather straight forward;
1. Get a piece of lino and put in on a hot plate to soften it to make it easier to do the cutting. Best to use pencil to outline what you want to do. Cut out using a variety of cutting tools.
2. Spread out 50% ink and 50% extender to thin out the ink, mix the two and then use a palette knife to spread it on one side and roll it with a roller. Good if it has a hissing sound so it is nice and thick. But not too thick!
3. When the ink is nice and even then apply to the lino at least 10 times before putting it under the press.
4. Note that the first couple of prints the colour won't be too strong as the lino is absorbent and will absorb some ink.
5. We used an albion press - it is important to put some guidelines on the press itself so you know where to place the paper. ( Also handy for the reduction process in the next session) Note that the longer you press it for ( min 5 seconds) the deeper the colour too.
6. When ll is finished than use safewash to clean up, it is safe but still slightly greasy. If absolutely necessary then use white spirit but not recommended.
7. To clean your hands use Citrus clean, a slightly grainy cream to be applied to dry hands to rub then wash off.
LINO PRINT - SOME TIPS
a. Note that for the lino prints Relief ink is used - it dries faster than intaglio ink as it is meant to be applied to a surface.
b. Make sure the rollers are cleaned! If not wipe it with safewash ( vegie oil base cleaning product) and roll it a couple of times on papers to make sure it is ok.
c. Look after your rollers by standing them on the little stands they come with.
d. If the ink is too thick then add 2 drops of copperplate oil, this is especially so for any black ink.
