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Chapter 11 |
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Reading: Reread the section called Relief Processes, which describes this most basic of all printmaking approaches.
Premise: You are about to make a simple relief printing block using wood, carpet padding, glue, and scissors. Relief printing has been in existence for centuries. Even before the Gutenberg press, stamps and seals were used as a means of denoting notarizations, royal seals, merchants' identification symbols, and for many other purposes as well.
In the sixteenth century, fabric was printed using a curved stamp (much like the common rubber stamp we use today) which was rocked over a surface covered with ink, then carefully applied to the material in a precise pattern. The motif designs ranged in their complexity but established the industry known today as surface pattern design.
A motif is any single design, simple or complex, that is repeated numerous times to create a pattern. Wall paper is a common example of motif repetition, as is printed fabric.
In this project, you'll create your own motifs, and use some very basic materials to print them onto paper, fabric, or if you're really daring—clothing! You can create your own printed fabric by picking up cotton yardage from a fabric store. Or, if you're more ambitious, you can order clothing "blanks" from the Dharma Trading Co. in San Rafael, California. In our example, we decided to print onto yardage, however Dharma Trading sells blank Hawaiian shirts, silk ties and kimonos, cotton aprons, T-shirts, sweatshirts and dozens of other clothing items.
Time required to do this project: Allow six hours, not including time spent on motif design.
*Materials: One or more 4" x 4" plywood squares—any thickness; Weldwood® contact cement; 4" x 4" squares of 1/4" carpet padding (see if you can get a remnant scrap from a carpet store); paper; a pointed permanent felt tip marker; sharp scissors; Versatex® printing paint (for clothing or fabric); or tube acrylic paint for paper; a 4" brayer (soft printing roller); a 9" tin or heavy foil pie pan; and paper towels for cleanup and accidents!
How to start: Begin by creating your motif on paper, the simpler the better. The print size will be 4" square, so work inside 4" squares drawn on the paper. Cut the carpet padding into 4" squares as well—one for each motif you wish to print. If you're bold, you can try drawing directly onto the carpet padding with the marker. Ultimately, the motif should be transferred onto the carpet padding, which will become the actual relief printing surface.
Once the image is on the carpet padding, you should coat the other side of the padding and one side of the plywood block with the contact cement. Let each one dry for the recommended time. Do NOT stick the block and the padding together! Cut out the pieces of the motif design, and apply them to the glue-faced surface of the block. They will bond almost instantly and permanently, so you want to place them perfectly! (It may be helpful to transfer the motif shape onto the block before gluing, just to help with the placement). If you want to make more than one motif, follow this process for each design.
Now you're ready to print, but onto what? Paper is an obvious choice, especially to practice the positioning of the motifs. If you really like what you get, try printing on fabric using the Versatex® inks.
The ink needs to be evenly spread out onto the bottom of the pie pan with the brayer. In the center of the pan, spread out about a tablespoon of ink with a tongue depressor or plastic spoon. To spread the ink evenly, roll the brayer across the ink, lift it, then come back the other direction, lift the brayer, and repeat. Change directions, rolling back and forth at a perpendicular direction. Some people prefer to place the ink bead further from the center, and push it across the bottom with the first stroke. It's not an exact science, but you may find this to be the most challenging part! HINT: Lifting the brayer at the end of each stroke is important, this insures that the surface of the brayer is contacting the ink in a different place each time.
When the ink is evenly spread, you are ready to press your stamp down into the center to "load" the stamp. It is now ready to print. After you make an initial print you must "re-ink" the surface, but before you do this, you need to respread the ink in the pie pan to even it out. The steps are: spread the ink, load the stamp, print, spread the ink, load the stamp, print, etc.
On fabric, about 50% of the ink will transfer. Remember, it's not a precision process, but one that you'll probably find quite enjoyable, as you see your images form a pattern. Depending on the shape of the motif, there are many patterns you can attempt. Common ones include the basic grid, checkerboard, brick, diamond, and honeycomb.
After several prints you may find that the edges of your motif look outlined from an excess of ink build-up around the edges of the carpet padding. Wipe these down quickly with a paper towel, and keep going.
To aid your color selection, look at some of the works in A World of Art to see how other artists have used flat color. Consider the works of Stuart Davis or Jacob Lawrence. Both artists demonstrate a masterful command of color! Look also at Henri Matisse's Venus. The cutout demonstrates how a powerful image can result from the use of simple shapes.
This is not a perfect process, moreover, our approach is quite crude, but remember Gauguin's appreciation of wood cut prints, and the special textural qualities that the boards he used brought to each image. That's probably the best attitude! Expect flaws, appreciate accidents, and have fun!
If you come up with a successful composition, scan it and send it to me as a GIF file. Maybe we'll use it in this site! Below you can see some finished examples of this project by Professor Kay Campbell's students from Southern Oregon University. (Click thumbnails to see larger version of work)
*About materials: Some of these materials are available at craft stores or college bookstores. However, printmaking supplies are a little more specialized. For the wood, I recommend any local lumber yard that may be willing to give you small scraps of wood. For a small fee, they'll probably even cut the wood to the exact size. Carpet outlets should have scraps of carpet padding—get rubber padding, not the fabric padding! You can also order the brayer and the water soluble printing ink through Dick Blick, Inc.,
and you can order the clothing blanks and Versatex® ink from Dharma Trading Post.
Follow the directions for heat curing this ink with an iron and your design will last through hundreds of washings!
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