Laced

Oh the things we do; fingers laced and tummy in place. Just finished carefully punching holes and adding ribbon to today's print; "Laced".

The print was created using two plates that were inked up separately, stacked together, and then run through the press as one unit. The main plate is a collagraph with the smaller inset image created on copper using ImagON photopolymer film. I used a bookbinding hole punch to create perfect openings for the ribbon and included a couple of small metal eyelets. A pale pink watercolor wash was added to the girdle.

Versacel Plates

After mentioning Versacel in the previous post I decided to dig out some examples to illustrate its versatility. The image above shows the Versacel plate on the right and the print on the left. The plate has materials glued to it (feathers & half circle at top left) incised lines, and embossed chains and twigs. It was inked and wiped intaglio with a surface roll using Akua inks.

This Versacel print was created in two sections. A rectangle was cut from the main plate and the fish image was drawn using a standard etching needle. The rest of the plate was created by embossing netting and using a metal stamp tool to create patterns and textures. It was inked in two separate sections - the fish inked and wiped as an intaglio and the main plate inked as a relief - then reassembled as one plate and run through the press.


This image shows how delicate lines can be scribed into Versacel to create detailed drawings. The scissors were embossed into the plate and small marks were cut into the plate using linoleum cutting tools. It's a two section plate that was inked, wiped and printed as an intaglio.

Versacel is an interesting material to work with and provides endless opportunities for printmaking experimentation. (I've even applied ImagOn photopolymer film to it. Its make up allows the plate to sit in the soda ash bath with no ill effects.) It's fairly inexpensive, easy to cut, and holds up to the rigors of printmaking; definitely worth playing around with.

Creating a Plate

Once I had my concept in place, I decided to do a photo intaglio print using Imagon film.

I used copper as my plate. After sanding the surface with a fine grit wet/dry paper, I cleaned the plate with some rubbing alcohol to make sure it was grease free. A piece of Imagon film was cut to size and adhered to the plate. The first step was to expose the layer of film to an aquatint screen. Mine was purchased from Elizabeth Dove, an artist I worked with in Canada, at a Keith Howard workshop. (http://www.elizabethdove.com/artwork/index.html) With that completed, I applied a second layer of Imagon over the first and exposed the image to the film.

I use a Nu-Arc exposure unit that I was extremely fortunate to find it on Craig's List for an unbelievable price. It has been a welcome addition to my studio and a vital piece of equipment if you work with any type of polymer plates. It's extremely important to have a good vacuum table and light source when using this process.

After exposure, the plate was processed in a bath of soda ash and water for nine minutes. It was removed from the soda ash, washed with water and sprayed with vinegar to stabilize the plate. Finally, I used a heat gun to dry the plate and it was ready to print.