So, through various web shenanigans, I discovered a print studio right on my doorstep (note: out here in the sticks, a 30 minute drive absolutely qualifies as ‘my doorstep’) - The Leinster Print Studio.

Yesterday, I went down to the studio to meet Margaret Becker, the founder, and take my first class in carborundum and drypoint. I’ve never done intaglio printing and I’ve never actually used a press, so I was really excited! It’s a lovely place - much larger than I’d imagined - and they have a fantastic set-up: five presses, a large exposure unit, a guillotine room, an etching/aquatint room, a dark-room, and even a wee kitchen. Margaret tells me that they’re also getting a screenprinting set-up some time in the near future.

Intaglio vs. Relief

Up to this point I’ve only ever done relief printing: an image is carved into the plate (be it wood or lino or whatever), ink sits on the top of the plate avoiding the cut away areas, and is directly transferred to the paper. Intaglio, however, is sort of the reverse of relief printing - ink is pushed into the marks on the plate, the surface is wiped clean, and then the force of the press pushes dampened paper into the lines/marks on the plate, thus transferring the ink. In relief printing, your cut-away areas won’t be printed, so you have to visualise your plate as a negative, but in intaglio, your cut away areas will be printed, so it’s more like a straight drawing process. It’s hard to do intaglio without a press, because of the sheer force needed to push the paper into the indents on the plate, which is why I’ve never done it before. I was once tempted to try driving the car over a plate, but that’s another story!

Carborundum

We started with carborundum, which is a more painterly printmaking process in which you mix fine mineral particles into a strong glue (we were using strong wood adhesive), and paint the resulting mixture directly onto the plate; the more carborundum in the mixture, the darker the resulting print tone.

Drypoint

Whilst waiting for the carborundum plates to dry, I started on a drypoint piece. With drypoint, you scrape/scratch your image into your plate (I was using metal here - I’m not sure what type), so it’s very like normal drawing, which appeals to me. I used to do a lot of pen and ink drawings with crosshatched shading, so hopefully I can transfer that technique to drypoint.

The time flew, and we only had a chance to take a proof of my first carborundum plate:

I know, I know - it’s totally feeble, but I was just playing with the carborundum and trying out a few brush-stroke styles to see what sort of results I could get. The squares at the top are swatches of different glue-to-carborundum ratios - the darkest tone having quite a lot of carborundum in the mixture and the lightest being mostly glue. Margaret gave me some carborundum, perspex and metal off-cuts to take home and practice on, so I’m going to take a bit more time with both processes and see what I can come up with.

I had a really great time - I spend far too long staring at the computer screen, so it’s lovely to get my hands inky and see actual, physical results rather than pixels on a screen. I’m also thrilled that I can have access to print facilities without trekking into Dublin. The studio is going to be running a few different workshops in various techniques over the autumn - woodblock, photoetch, etc. - so I’m looking forward to trying my hand at lots of different processes.

I’ve also applied to one of the NCAD CEAD courses for studio skills and notebook research in October, so hopefully I’ll get in. I’m tentatively thinking about doing an MA at some point, so I want to start dipping my toe into the educational waters again.

After spending most of the week glued to the computer, I thought it was time to break out the inks and paper, and get my hands - and the kitchen - thoroughly dirty:

I’ve come to the conclusion that my inks are Not The Best, and I’m never going to get decent prints with them. They’re the ‘Color & Co’ inks - the cheapie, water-based stuff used in schools, but I just can’t find anything else over here. Actually, tell a lie, I discovered some Schmincke block printing inks on an Irish online art store, but a search on the WetCanvas printing forums reveals nadda about them. I’m thinking about trying some oil-based inks from Daniel Smith, but they’re based in the states, so shipping will probably be prohibitive and take ages. Grumble. I am impatient. My right arm is also rather unhappy with me today as a result of all that burnishing with a wooden spoon! Oh, for a press.

Anyway, here’s a photo essay of my step-by-step process (clicky for full images):

A whole table of prints:

I haven’t done any printing since college, and I suddenly got the urge to try some linocuts again.

Step One: quick sketch.
Step Two: carve, carve, carve and make a huge mess.
Step Three: print.

I’m not totally happy with the result—I really rushed the carving, because I was so impatient to try printing the thing! Next time I’ll try a two or three-colour print, methinks.