Friday, June 25, 2021

Another day, another workshop

Intaglio test print judith hoffman
Test print, Tetra Pak plate

 I resolved weeks ago to not take anymore workshops. It takes time to experiment with new techniques and for things to sink in. Then I saw a post about a pasta machine printing workshop at the Jaffe  Center for the Book Arts.  I signed up, of course. It's something I had been curious about. Right now we seem to have a bounty of online workshops. I hope they never end, but they might, when the virus is under control. The first class was instructions and demos. We have a week to practice, then we meet again next Tuesday. The instructions were clear and the examples Bettina showed us were inspiring. 

Above is my third or fourth print, the plate is a piece of Tetra Pak. I traced a recent drawing and transferred it to the plate. I need to go over some lines, they should be deeper. Or maybe I didn't ink the plate correctly? The beauty of Tetra Pak plates is that they are free. I can sit and draw blind contours on them without tracing or planning and then work more on the ones I like.

Intaglio test print judith hoffman
Milk carton and Tetra Pak plates, first print and ghost.

Above are my first prints - they came out amazingly well. The ink seemed almost too wet and my ghost prints are very faint. But I am pleased with the first prints. That was yesterday. I thought this would be easy. Today the Tetra Pak plate didn't print so well, and the same ink was thick on the plate. When I tried to wipe it off it didn't want to move. I ended up taking a slightly damp piece of tissue paper and wiping most of the ink away. Then I had to use the ball of my thumb to smooth out the streaky marks. This will take some practice.

And of course there is another workshop on the horizon. It's Seeded Notebook with Henrik Drescher. I have admired his drawing style for years and years. A chance to watch him work in a sketchbook is very alluring. Check out the short video, it's a simple idea. But the second half of the class is watching Henrik work. And it will be a way to use all the cast-off prints I am making right now.

I'm looking for suggestions for a thin paper that would be good for printmaking, but also would be good for collage. Any ideas?

2 comments:

Aine Scannell said...

Hello there Judith - Aine here in Scotland UK (just outside EDINBURGH)
I always enjoy receiving your blog posts - speaking of which I am thinking that I may re start blogging myself.
YES Isn't tetrapak printmaking great. So excellently immediate. Have you checked out Instagram to see what other artists are doing with it.? I have been saving some from my beloveds 'alternative "milk"packaging'. Judith - I am curious as to what ink you are using in relation to your hassles with wiping/over wiping etc etc ?
Also what were you using to print the tetra plates? Was it a pasta machine or maybe you have an intaglio press? Do get in touch if there's still a problem...I'm always open to offering suggestions. email: aine@ainescannell.com. Paper for printmaking + collage: Kozo Washi o Kitikata spring to mind. Thanks for sharing your studio work and your lovely blog. Mine is printmakingart.blogspot. take care stay safe. Aine Scannell. Awagami also now do a lightweight hosho washi for inkjet printing which one can then use as chine colle if desired - which I find to be excellent. It has to be the light weight one though.

Judith Hoffman said...

Hi Aine, how nice to hear from you. I just went to your blog and signed up for notifications in case you do blog again. That would be lovely. I think I have you in my Feedly, but I don’t remember to look at it. Did you know google is dropping feedburner? I think you have until the end of the month to download follower’s email addresses. I will check out tetrapak at Instagram. I’m using Blick’ s water based block printing ink. The instructor of the class recommended it. I did just order some Akua intaglio, after reading how great it is. I am using a pasta machine, with layers of felt, chip board and scrap paper. The weird thing is that it all worked fine the day before. See the second image in my blog post. Or at least I thought it was working pretty well. (-: I’m so new to this it could be anything. Apparently the Blick printing ink, which comes in a tube, can separate. I thought I would try squeezing it all into a small jar and stirring before I print again. Thank you so much for your offer of help. And for the paper recommendations. I may even have some Kitikata here. I am loving the intaglio process, it’s so much like drawing.