Chinese carved wood characters.

In a Hongkong second hand shop, not far from our Hotel, I found this little tray of 30 Chinese characters. I tried printing them first with block stamp ink then I inked up with black letterpress ink and placed them in a galley to make a good print for identification. My Uncle, Bob Chartres, has a friend who is an expert in old Chinese Characters so I hope to find out the meaning of these.

Chinese characters (30)

I used the Hunters Proof Press, circa 1900, to print these characters onto incisioni using a heavy felt blanket and a 'green' oil based letterpress ink.

Mad Bull Proof Print

This print was printed on incisioni 190 gsm, dampened, with Carbon black Akua ink. I wiped the edge of the plate first with a piece of telephone book paper. Some of the noise in the print was made with the uneven edge of the cardboard squeegee. I should have cut the card with a guillotine.

Jane Adson's intaglio solarplate

Using an iceblock stick makes it easy to stir the jar of Akua waterbased intaglio ink then place a dob of ink onto the solarplate ready for the squeegee. As the ink does not dry in the air but dries in the paper its printed onto, extra ink can always be scraped off and put back into the jar.

Jane's plate

Lay down the ink onto the plate.

Inking plate

The squeegee lays down the ink both ways.

Inking Jane's plate

Using a piece of mat board as a squeegee the surplus ink can be scraped off before wiping.

Jane's plate

Here is Jane's plate half wiped down using old telephone book pages.

Jane's plate

The cotton bud is being rubbed onto the smooth areas to emphasise the highlights.

Jane's mad bull

The plate has been inked up using the squeegee, telephone book pages, cotton buds and mull.

Jane's mad bull

Jane's double tranparency, the inked up solarplate, with the print onto dampened 190 gsm incisioni.

Daniel's solarplate

The solarplate is inked up with Akua carbon black. The wiping down using old telephone book papges, cotton buds and mull.

Daniel's Dragon

Daniel's transparency was built up with 4 transparencies taped over each other to increase the density. The inked up solarplate with Akua carbon black and the print on 190 gsm incisioni.

Mangatainoka School

The 41 students from 5 year olds to 12 year olds spent the day at Homeprint, setting and printing wooden type, drawing and printing from polyplate and learning how to sew a book.

Allison's grasshopper

This freshly hatched grasshopper was such a bright green.

Wash out

Julianne is brushing the solarplate with a cup full of warm water. We use gloves to keep the mild alkali from skin contact.

John inking solarplates

The thin even coating of Akua being applied to the 2 solarplates.

John rolling out the Akua

Here I am rolling out the Akua Ink after first stirring the ink in the jar. I pick up and roll the roller to make a strip of ink of even consistancy. Next I use that full roller and start a new strip of thinner ink on the second piece of plastic. I am looking for an even velvety coating of ink before I roll out on the solarplates.

Liz pumping press

Liz is using the big yellowXpress with 2 solarplate relief prints together.

Julianne and Liz's solar prints

The two solarplates were printed with Akua ink, on recycled paper together using the yellowXpress 5000

Study the pattern

Look at this section of marbling. How did you do it? I might try that myself!

Drawing into the ink to create special effects

Here we use a stylus to draw carefully onto the surface of the paste and move the colours to create the effect we want.

Tapping on the ink

Two drops of 2 different colours (black and red) are sprinkled onto the surface of the paste.

Laying down the paper onto the ink.

Students watch the paper being placed onto the patterns created in the ink.

Marbling

Here is my favourite marbling.

Marbling

Marbling was chosen from the set and placed into the card.

Aluminium plate.

Sue Pearson has used 2 techniques to create this aluminum plate. Both dry point and collagraph.
Printed as an intaglio and relief in one impression.
http://www.textiles.org.nz/profiles/suepearson/index.html

Dry point / collagraph print.

Sue's print using the yellowXpress 5000, printed onto incisioni, with Akua ink.

Colagraph plate

This collagraph plate is painted, scratched, layered, incised, matt board. By Sue Pearson at the Homeprint Studio.

Collagraph

Sue's collagraph print using the yellowXpress 5000, Akua Ink and incisioni paper.

Jane Adson's solarplate with black print.

Jane used a photograph negative and exposed it onto solarplate at a Homeprint workshop last year, 2009. Using Akua black ink and a yellowXpress 5000, Jane printed onto incisioni paper.

PVC dry point plate

Dry point plate. Drawn with a drypoint needle onto PVC plate by Jane.

Dry point plate

This is the partially inked up dry point acrylic plate by Jane Adson when she was work shopping with students from Palmerston North Girls High School.

Rainbow over third tee.

Sue Pearson and Melanie Yazzie

Sue and Melanie are working in collaboration for an exhibition of print and painting for an exhibition in Gisbourne in June.

Ist colour of print edition by Melanie Yazzie.

1st colour of edition laid out in drying rack in the 'Pili' Studio.

Carved plates by Melanie

Melanie holds up a couple of her carved MDF print plates.

Painting corner at 'Pili' Studio

Melanie, Sue and Ruby's paintings in the corner.

Paintings by Melanie and Sue

New paintings

Some of the collaboration paintings by Melanie and Sue.

Melanie Yazzie

Melanie stands beside her latest painting.
http://www.glenngreengalleries.com/Artists/myazzie/MelanieYazzie_Prints.html

Tim glueing his book in the Brebner Cottage

Tim has his 31 pages and the covers laid out on the 3.8 metre wooden table in the Brebner Cottage. Using CVA bookbinding glue, 2/1 with water, glueing the tissue paper onto the spine and fore edge of the pages to make the concertina book. One book, laid out, took the whole table.
www.WWOOF.co.nz