Nearly there. Both plates are from Hilary and my lesson. The one on the right, with very little definition, I sealed with Artists Varnish, as we had had problems earlier going straight in with the non-etching paint. This has probably removed some of the definition particularly the indents and is not so successful. The left plate I left as is and went in straight with the paint. I mixed acrylic paint with and extender and a bit of gel medium and painted lightly the plate, removing excess with a dabbing movement and paper towel; I painted the area of the fabric with gel medium and then placed the fabric over the plate which I had placed on a soft pin board; a length of felt was placed over the fabric and then I ran a brayer with as much force as I could over the plate area. The left hand sample is a lot better and will perservere with new plates and more bumps and dents.
Interesting result, Phil, especially on the left. How durable is the plate if subjected to the full force of a brayer? What if you had used macaroni or bubble wrap on it? Would it have survived the pressure? Thanks for sharing. Something I've always wanted to try.
ReplyDeleteVery intriquing! I would love to know more as well about the types of things that worked well for you.
ReplyDeleteThe plate is pretty durable as its base is quite a thick piece of picture mounting board. Remember I also placed it on a soft but sturdy pin board (some give) plus I placed a couple of layers of felt on top (more give) and then raqn the brayer across. Bubble wrap works but again as with stamping (I think) when popped. Macaroni I think would be a little too raised otherwise anything that has some definition, will stick well onto your 'plate' and does not have too sharp edges as this could make holes in the cloth (or paper); e.g. sequin waste,corrugated cardboard, string, lace, seeds, herbs, tissue paper, scrunched masking tape, foliage, etc.
ReplyDeleteThe thing about collagraphy is that you don't want areas where paint/ink can be trapped and squidge out when rolled - spoiling the clarity of the image. You need some texture but it has to be relatively low height. Sealing the piece once you have glued the pieces in place helps to create a robust surface. We used 'Button Varnish' which dried hard.
ReplyDeleteWhen we inked up the designs we used our fingers and a cloth to rub the ink into the design. Then we had to remove way more than we would have expected and had to take great care to get into the nooks and crannies to remove excess ink. It really is a careful process.
The experimenting we will have to do is to work out how much ink/thickened dye (which will need a retarder to stop it drying out too quickly) needs to be left to create a good image on fabric.
If we use thickened dye we may not need to prepare the fabric with something like Gel Medium or InkAid.
I hope to do some experimenting with Vanessa soon - but that could only be in the New Year sadly - I am dying to have a go.
Hilary