Re-purpose household waste to make prints

Red fox study
drypoint engraving from plastic plate
edition of 11
2017

To learn more how this print was made scroll down through the post


I have been active once again in the studio producing some small and limited edition new work. Only in  this case I am using everyday common materials as surfaces from which the prints originate.
In fact, two materials specifically are being used where drypoint is the printmaking technique being employed.


Method #1 - paper card drypoint

The first material is the thin dense paper card used for the packaging of products such as cereal, pasta, crackers, teas, etc...
I have found that coating this with either several thin layers of shellac or acrylic varnish allows a fairly decent surface that can be scratched (or scribed) into with a sharp pointed tool. It is important that both sides of the plate be coated.

plate cut from cereal box board

reverse non-printed side is used for scribing image into.

Shellac is applied using a soft bristle brush over the surface 

and several layers are applied.

I have several tools available for using to work an image into the plate surface.

tools include traditional drypoint needle (metal tool 2nd from the right), diamond tip scriber (reddish wood handle tool), mechanical pencil holder with compass point inserted (far right)           and a home made needle with a steel darning needle inserted into a light wood dowel (between the diamond tip and metal etching needle).

An image can be drawn directly onto the surface using a dark graphite pencil or fine tip permanent marker or you can trace it on using carbon or graphite or saral transfer paper.

sketch of winter woods

sketch on tracing paper (right) with graphite paper over plate and image traced again over top (left)

Darken the graphite line transfer using a fine tip black permanent marker then scratch into these visible lines

The plate is inked either using Akua Intaglio ink (I modify it with a bit of magnesium carbonate powder to add a bit more stiffness) or Caligo Safewash etching ink (I add just a small amount of easy wipe compound to reduce the stiffness of this ink).

first proof print (right) and the plate positioned on the registration paper

Method #2 - plastic plate drypoint

I up-cycled a clear plastic lid from a seasonal greeting card box cover. I cut it into a couple of rectangular plates using a utility knife and a cork back metal ruler.
First draw the outline on your sketching paper and within the same size rectangle draw in your image. The plate can be placed over top. Draw in your sketch and then using tape secure the plate to the sketch. You will be able to view the sketch through the thin clear plate. Using a drypoint tool you can trace the image into the plate surface.

trace outline of your plate on the sketch paper. This will give you the dimensions of your sketch that will also fit within the plastic plate size.

Much like drawing you can add textural variations using cross-hatch, stipple. scribble. You can also use things like sandpaper or emery board to add rough texture to the plastic surface. The more worked a surface the darker the tone it will produce. 

scribed image in the plastic surface with thinner and denser line

and the resulting print from the plate on paper. The ink was a mix of Akua intaglio carbon black and pthalo blue.

The Hug

thin ink was wiped into the plate surface to reveal the image during the scribing process

plate inked and ready for printing

on the press bed awaiting dampened rag paper to be put over top

detail of print on paper

small edition of 11 drying

Thinking ahead

Winter in the forest
linoleum block print (art card)
open edition
copyright 2010 B.Holden

This study is fresh from the studio this morning. It is based on a photo that was taken earlier this year during the winter months. With the seasonal change underway thought it might be nice to have some new winter theme work made available as possible Christmas gifts. I may also send a few of these out as my own personal card this year to family and friends.
Three blocks were used to create the image. The first block, the key or main block was carved from a piece of battleship gray linoleum and was the last block printed...with black ink. The second block was also cut from battleship gray lino and it was printed as the first colour in the sequence using a gradiated light cerulean blue and white that were blended together on the inking slab (the white areas were cut away from the surface). Then the block for the bluish gray shadow in the foreground birch was cut from a piece of vinyl composite material and this was mounted to a thin piece of flat cardboard (sealed with water base varathan).
I used a three hole punch taped down to a registration board and set the blocks into an L shape brace. These were printed by passing under the roller of my press with a piece of 3 mm (1/8 inch) tagboard set on top of the paper.
I first spent a day cutting the blocks and pulling rough proofs on newsprint using less expensive water based speedball ink. Once everything was aligned and I had the colours down then I mixed up good colours using oil based Faust aqualine relief printing inks. The keyblock was inked using Caligo carbon black safe wash oil base ink. Both of these inks use soap & water cleanup as they are modified oils that break down with liquid detergent and are also certified non toxic. I feel quite safe working with bare hands knowing this will not harm me if absorbed into the skin.
Since it is not overly large in size I have decided to print the 8 x 13 cm (3.25 x 5.25 inch) block onto a 13 x 18 cm (5 x 7 in) piece of rag paper and thought I might market these as artcard size original prints.

Wilderness - Exhibition opening

artist and his work

entrance to the Pictograph Gallery - in the lower level of the Voyageur Mall in Atikokan Ontario

This past Saturday (June 5) was the official opening of my solo show titled Wilderness at the Pictograph Gallery in Atikokan Ontario. I had the honour of hanging the show myself and given the amount of wall space available chose to work an arrangement that would allow each individual work some spotlight. I chose to tag each of the work with floating text by printing title, date and medium onto translucent laser labels. Unfortunately due to the low ceiling and closer proximity of nearby walls the regular glass picked up reflections a bit too well in the photos so I apologize if this makes viewing difficult of some of the work in the attached photos . It didn't appear to be as bad viewing these in person though.

Although the weather turned out to be a bit cool and wet about 40 persons dropped by to view the work and learn a bit about printmaking from this artist.

The show runs until Saturday June 26. The gallery is open Tues - Sat from noon until 3 pm daily. The gallery phone number is (807) 597-4344 or one can contact them via the website link above for more information.
My friend Luke who was in attendance took some video footage featuring a close up of each piece. You can view the footage by clicking the following links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqocGep9L1c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuGSZe1dglE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XASM8LsIyzA

installation of horizontal work

portable wall and end wall with view of vertical work

a fitting quotation that accompanies my work

a small wood engraving - one type of relief surface printmaking that is featured

a monochromatic study pulled from the surface of an engraved acrylic plate

Quetico French Lake

relief block print

finally... a big thank you to the hard-working staff and volunteers of the Pictograph Gallery (with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation) for allowing me the opportunity to showcase in this venue.

Also a sincere thanks to the  Ontario Arts Council again for providing the support that enabled public presentation of this series of work.

The Ontario Arts Council is an agency of the Government of Ontario