above photo of a previous collagraph print making course with tutor Colin Beaumont
Just in case you are wondering - A collagraph is a print made from a collaged or textured board.
essentially a Collagraph "plate" (from which you make your print), is made from a cardboard (usually) base, onto which are glued various materials e.g., fabric/textiles, papers including sandpaper, string, glue, and carborundum or sand. This is just an example of what can be included. There are a huge range of possibilities........ It is also possible to 'scribe' into some of the surfaces on the plate. Layers of paper can be cut and torn away from the card base additionally. The card can also be incised with a scalpel blade to create very fine lines.
Once the plate has been sealed with a final protective varnish - it is 'inked up' to get ink into all of the crevices and indentations. Thereafter, it is 'wiped' in preparation for putting it through the etching press. Printmaking paper is soaked in a water tray and 'blotted' to remove most of the water. It is then placed over the ready inked/wiped plate and run through the press under immense pressure.
The plate may also be relief inked i.e. have ink rolled onto the surface thereby giving 2 colours from one run through the press. There are also special methods for inking different colours onto your plate which will be discussed.
Here is an example of a collagraph plate and print.
Here is a link to where you can see more of small forests artworks on Flickr. Scroll down the page to see close ups of sections of the collagraph plate.
the above image is from a book about collagraph printmaking See more details here
Although there has not been sufficient uptake in terms of people registering for this course which is ideal as an introduction to printmaking - I wouldn't be surprised if it gets rescheduled for another date so do contact us, if you are still interested though couldn't make the originally scheduled date.
contact us: enquiries@fifedunfermlineprintmakers.org
