Printer Wonderland!

It's Printer Wonderland at the Red Hot Press this friday evening! Among lots of other great printmaker's work I'll have a load of original prints, cards and handmade sketchbooks for sale and it should be a great event ~

Join us on Friday ...29th November 6:30pm - 9pm at our annual Christmas sale here at Red Hot Press.

Have a glass of mulled wine and see all our lovely handmade wares prints, cards, gifts, books... all made by members of Red Hot Press. We will also be displaying (and selling) the 20:20 2013 print exchange and original works made for the Cowprint Artists' Calendar.

Buy local and handmade this Christmas!

For more info see the Facebook event page -

Printer Wonderland at Red Hot Press, Southampton
 

Some of the prints and cards I'll have for sale:

 

 

Lost Star - A Titanic box set of prints & touring exhibition

Five months ago I was excited to discover that the Red Hot Press print studios were running a group project to create a box set of prints to commemorate the loss of the Titanic, a century ago this April. Not only could I take part in a group printing project, but I'd get to keep a box set for myself!

After mulling over a few different ideas I decided on a design which attempts to combine the elegance and majesty of the titanic with some indication of the human cost. I've only done a few etchings in the past, but I thought it would be the best medium to use for my quite complex and detailed design. 

Etching - the process

A waxy acid-resist, known as a ground, is applied to a metal plate, usually copper or zine but steel can also be used. There are two common types of ground: hard ground and soft ground. I used hard ground from a tube, which was spread on my zinc plate with a roller, coating it evenly and thinly. The ground was then heated to harden it. 

Once hardened, I used a basic etching needle (you can use anything including a nail) to scratch into the ground, exposing the metal (but not scratching into it). I had already drawn my design out (in reverse) and a roughly traced it onto the ground as a starting point before etching. Once my design was completed I then submerged it in a solution of copper sulphate (much safer than other etching acids) which eats away at all of the exposed parts of the metal.  To test the strength of the solution I had already created a test plate and tried out various etching times. My plate was exposed to the copper sulphate solution for about 9 minutes, which resulted in a good strong bite (the lines were etched deep enough so that they will hold enough ink when printed, and not too deep, so that they are too wide).

The plate was then removed from the solution and rinsed in water. The ground was removed with turpentine.

Printing

I used a piece of mount board to push ink into the etched lines of the plate. The next bit was the most time consuming - cleaning the plate with scrim and tissue, to remove all of the excess ink from the surface of the plate. This wiping leaves ink only in the incisions. Once the plate is fully inked and carefully wiped clean it's ready to be printed from. I used heavy, somerset paper which had been soaked and patted dry. The zinc plate was placed face up on the etching press bed, and the damp paper laid over the top (being careful to leave an even edge around the plate). The press blankets are then placed over the paper (usually with some newsprint between paper and blankets to prevent getting any marks on the blankets), and the print run through the press.

My final etching

Captain Smith and Officers ~ SS Titanic

Details:

'Lost Star' - Box set overview

Number of Artists involved: 16

Number of Box Sets: 27 (each containing 16 prints)

Number of Box sets for sale: 10 (each containing 16 prints)

Price : £300 (a fantastic price for so many original artworks!)

The 'Lost Star' box set of prints will be on a touring exhibition:

The Concourse Gallery of Southampton Solent University Michael Andrews Building, East Park Terrace, Southampton, Hampshire SO14 0YN. The Private View is on 12th April 2012 5pm - 7pm.  The exhibition continues until 22nd May 2012. The opening hours are Weekdays 7:30am-9:00pm, Sat/Sun 9:00am-4:00pm The Link Gallery West Downs Centre, Romsey Road, Winchester SO22 5HT  The Private View is on Thursday 5 July 6pm - 8pm.  The exhibition runs from the 2 July – 6 August. opening hours 9am - 5pm every day. Here is a sneak preview of one of the other beautiful prints that is part of the set:  Save our Souls (Collagraph) - Ruth Barrett-Danes For more info on the Lost Star project and the Red Hot Press see their website

Red Hot Press - Fine Art Printmaking Open Studios

I joined the Red Hot Press printmaking studios in July and I've enjoyed a smörgåsbord of fantastic printmaking workshops since then:

• Lino print and Letterpress with Katherine Anteney
• Wood engraving with Jutta  Manser from the Society of Wood Engravers
• Monoprinting & Watercolour with Kevin Dean http://www.kevindean.co.uk/
• Screen printing with Sarah Mander
• Pine Resin Etching & Aquatint with Jo Price

As a member I'm also eligible to exhibit in their Open Studios which are coming up as part of Hampshire Open Studios, yey!

The Red Hot Press Studio will be open with an exhibition of original prints by members for the next two weekends - 20 & 21 and 27 & 28 August. The exhibition will include framed and unframed work and handmade cards - all works will be for sale.

The 20th of August will also be the studio's annual Wayzgoose Fete.

- A wayzgoose was originally an entertainment given by a master printer to his workmen each year on or about St Bartholomew's Day (24 August). It marked the traditional end of summer and the start of the season of working by candlelight. Later, the word came to refer to an annual outing and dinner for the staff of a printing works.

 

At the Red Hot Press the Wayzgoose Fete means a day of printmaking activities, great music and refreshments!

 

The fete is on between 12 and 5pm on Sat 20th and the programme for the day will be:

 

1:00pm Free Printmaking taster, try your hand at drypoint printing.
2:30pm The ‘Slow Arrangers’ Ukulele Band.
3:30pm Free Bookbinding taster session.

I thoroughly recommend the Red Hot Press courses and the exhibition and Wayzgoose look set to be great too :-)

Below are some of the prints I've made during the workshops:

Handmade - Linocut and Letterpress

Wood engraving

Watercolour with Monoprint

Screenprints and etchings to follow!

For more info on the Open Studios or to have a look at their courses see their website - Red Hot Press