Collagraph and acetate drypoint workshop in Kenora Ontario

abundance of activity happening during my recent printmaking workshop in Kenora

This past weekend I gave a lively workshop to around 14 enthusiastic participants in Kenora, Ontario. This was part of the Community Arts Hub initiative arranged through the Kenora Association for Community Living . Kenora is a picturesque city located on the shores of Lake of the Woods in the further most western region of the province of Ontario near the province of Manitoba and state of Minnesota borders. It has a robust arts community and is a busy place especially during the summer months with a great influx of tourism due to it's beautiful surroundings and many appealing recreational activities. Below are some photos taken during the weekend. The first batch listed under Kenora are from the town itself. These are followed with a series of photos from the workshop that focus on the creation stages, printing and a few of the results produced by participants. A big thank you to Jeff, Laura and M.E. for your hard work that allowed this to happen. I also want to personally thank each participant who attended, your creative spirit was very evident during the weekend. 

Kenora

              View of the town of Kenora from restaurant on top floor of Best Western Lakeside Inn

nice evening colours over Lake of the Woods

View of Lake of the Woods looking south

Lakeside Inn Kenora ON

Collagraph and drypoint on acetate

The workshop was divided into two sessions that inclued a three hour intro and demo on the Friday evening and a full 8 hours on the Saturday. The activity took place in a space that is a converted older residental home. When you fill these mid size rooms with tables and people it can get a bit tight for space. The trick was to organize areas for particular things such as where one can work on making a plate, where to place the press, an area for applying the inks, an area for papers and space to put prints to dry post printing.

Participants created collagraph prints using collage techniques and choosing from a variety of materials to adhere with adhesives to mat board base sheets. These were sealed mainly under plastic food wrap using a tack spray adhesive coupled with the pressure of the press roller. Plates were passed under the printing felts to mold the plastic over the low relief elements.

We used non-toxic Akua Intaglio inks since these produce fairly vivid colours but also their ease of clean up and lack of odour. The ink was wiped, painted and rolled onto the plates and then the plates had damp Canson Edition rag paper set over top, newsprint and 3 layers of wool felt blankets. They were passed under the top roller of my small press using various pressures depending on the plate heights.

For the second component of the workshop participants were given the opportunity to scribe a simple sketch into thin acetate sheet using anything from an etching needle, awl tip to nail head. These had ink wiped into the line, the excess surface ink was wiped away with tartalan bundles and then a relief roll of a contrast colour was applied with a brayer to produce a simple but colourful print.

here I am giving a demo of the printing stage

showing the print on paper

 Saturday morning participants work on constructing their plates

 from which collagraph prints would be created.

corner for applying inks

paricipant applying ink to her plate

she used an actual dried swallowtail butterfly as one of her collage elements

a bit of a tight squeeze not only for the press procedure but for participants who want to get by

the reveal of a monochrmatic collagraph that incorporated birch bark and fern leaf

a colourful floral theme was produced in this print

from a plate that incorporated a variety of materials

ã 2012

slighter pressure passing the plate under the roller

coupled with selective spot wiping produced this energetic study

ã 2012 

this participant brought some of her own handmade paper

It was derived mainly from cotton but also had organic found objects

 including cat tail fibers and the foam that is found floating on the surface of water along shore

ã 2012

monochromatic collagraph print taped onto thin hard board to dry

ã 2012

example of participant collagraph print

ã 2012

collagraph print

ã 2012

monochromatic study of a birds nest collagraph

ã 2012

very bold monochromatic collagraph

ã2012

drypoint with relief roll from acetate sheet

ã 2012

collagraph derived from fern leaves

ã 2012

collagraph produced from various organic elements

 including insects and grasses

ã 2012



On the road away from the studio being inspired

http://www.artgalleryofhamilton.com/agh_news/thespec_com-31-5-2012.pdf

Just returned home from a week and half in Southern Ontario. One of the highlights during my trip was at the Art Gallery of Hamilton where I had the privilege to view a show titled "Nature and Spirit". This retrospective features the coastal landscapes of noted Canadian west coast painter Emily Carr. (click on link at the beginning of this post) This show is on loan from the Art Gallery of Vancouver and is a wonderful collection of this famous Canadian artists works on canvas over the period of her entire career. I find her imagery most interesting, her colours are delightful and the play of shapes are very pleasing and a mix of the energetic and the sublime. There is indeed a connection made when I look at her work...it keeps my attention.
Here is a link to a great site dedicated to the art and writings of this artist:
http://bcheritage.ca/emilycarrhomework/main.htm
I am also sorting out some photos I've taken over the past few years to use as source material for new images in my printmaking. Here are few of my favourite including three recent photos (#6, 7 & 8) taken during my recent road trip along Lake Superior to S. Ontario and back:

Adult Workshop in Relief block print and Collagraph Thunder Bay Art Gallery

Last week I delivered a two part workshop in two printmaking techniques to ten participants. Relief block and collagraph were the focus. This was also a non-toxic workshop since all the materials we used didn't pose any health or enviromental concerns. This took place in the community activities room at our local art Gallery.
For the relief block component participants carved their designs into pieces of Eco-Karve made by Inovart.
The prints had Caligo Safe wash relief printing inks rolled onto their surfaces with soft rubber brayers. Each person had a simple registration system of a three hole punch press attached with duct tape to a base sheet of recycled core-plast sign material. Blocks were held in place with wood popsicle sticks taped onto the board using masking tape. Prints were made onto thin but strong Masa paper. The punch also acted as a pin system to hold the paper in place for additional blocks that could printed first and then the key block printed over top in alignment.

participants removing eco-karve material

with linocut tools to create relief surfaces

participant using rubbing tool burnishing the backside of Masa paper

that is set over top of an inked block . The boards I provided used

a makeshift 3 hole punch registration system to hold the paper in place.

The artists if they wanted had the opportunity to create multi-coloured

prints from registering several blocks and paper on the board .

single colour proof print made on newsprint

a Matisse inspired design

 a colour design on paper translated to block surface then to a two colour print

 prints set aside to dry along the wall

recycled cardboard trays for taking home wet prints

one participant was clever and masked off the central blossom area
in one of her prints with foil to print. She rolled on the first colour (green),
washed off her block and then carefully spot inked the blossom in red
and black. This gave her a three colour print off the one block surface.

The second technique explored was Collagraph. Participants were given a smorgasbord of materials to use to construct plates that included paper scraps, string, dried plant material, stuff from recycle bins, glues, acrylic gel mediums, modeling paste, water filter particulate, etc...
There wasn't enough time to seal the plates properly with shellac or acrylic medium so I sprayed them with an adhesive and put plastic food wrap over top. These were run through the press (with blankets over top) to both level the plate and mold the wrap over the collage elements.
Akua Intaglio inks were wiped, painted or rolled onto the plates and then after a bit of selective wiping dampened heavier rag paper was put over top. This was again passed under the top roller of the press and some very colourful collagraphs were made.

the instructor (yours truly) performing the task of leveling plates
seal with plastic food wrap while participants carve their relief blocks

 press printing station setup with small press, table in foreground
 was used as an area to adhere prints to boards with butcher tape

 example of a two colour collagraph created by participant using collage technique
and marks made into the mat board based plate

another student work from a plate that used a variety of materials

Participant with her colourful collagraph print on paper

prints were secured onto thin pieces of hardboard
with adhesive butchers tape to dry
this particular print had a dried maple leaf glued
in the center of the plate which picked up in print

Drypoint on acrylic plate with added hand coloring

Southern Ontario Farmland

drypoint with hand color

varied open edition

Brian Holden

copyright 2012

I have been producing a few new miniature size prints in preparation for another solo exhibition of my work this coming summer. This show will feature only small size printmaking from my studio that utilize various techniques in their creation.
The above study could actually be labelled mix media since watercolor painting was an additional process I used to add color to the image. The plate size is 7 x 12.5 cm (2.75 x 5 inches). I don't imagine I'll be able to print too many images from the plate as the plexiglass usually only yields a small number of good impressions before the line deteriorates.
As for the process I made a sketch on paper using a photo I had taken a couple years back when I visited this region as reference and laid a piece of clear non-glare plexiglass over top. Using my sketch as a guide I worked into the surface of the acrylic using a steel carbide needle and also a small diamond tip stylus.
Then oil based etching ink was wiped into the recessed lines and the plate was printed into soaked and blotted 250 gm rag paper. I taped the paper to a piece of thin hardboard with butchers tape and let it dry. Watercolor was then added.
The landscape is a view of farmland on a hillside that is part of a river valley in an area of Southern Ontario very close to where my father and mother reside. I also spent some time during my childhood in this region and used to fish and swim in this river as a lad.

polymer plate printing using different printmaking inks at the same time

This is a print from a solar plate I created last year. Decided to try something a bit unusual this time around to make a few more prints from the plate. Graphic Chemical bone black oil based etching ink (linseed base) was applied first into the exposed plate recessed areas. After a good wiping with tartalan cloth and yellow pages I then applied color Akua intaglio ink onto the surface areas. For this the ink was applied using a small watercolor brush and I used my pinky to smudge it around a la poupee. Some of the ink was applied as is right out of the jar but I also diluted a few colors like the green with a little Akua blending medium.

I pre-soaked a piece of Canson Edition 250 gm rag white for about 40 min. which was blotted between cotton towels and then laid slightly damp over top of the plate that I had set onto a piece of cartridge paper on the press bed. A piece of newsprint was placed over top of this and three layers of wool felts carefully set on top of this. The inked plate was passed through the press. The photos above and below illustrate the result. Even though the inks are from different sources they do appear to work together. I was careful to not to apply to much Akua ink but to leave some little white areas exposed to add highlights.

Echinacea

solar plate etching

copyright Brian Holden 2012

image size : 8.6 x 12.7 cm (3 3/8 x 5 inches)

paper size: 18 x 23 cm (7 x 9 inches)

varied open edition