The soft plate relief plate workshop starts tomorrow. Join us today so you can start making unique prints tomorrow.
This process of printmaking without a press allows for:
Check out the details and join us today.
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Composition is important to the success of a piece of artwork. And yet sometimes the concept seems so hard to get a handle on. It is abstract and subjective.
Collage is one way that I create pleasing compositions from less than perfect prints.
Today, I am working with soft block plates. I pieced together some soft block relief prints and thought about the principles of repetition and variety. I put together several pieces of some original prints to make one pleasing relief print.
A couple of ways that I embrace the ideas of repetition and variety are:
For example:
I like circles, so I use wire, caps, pencils and other tools to make circles with different quality of line. This way I repeat the simple shape and create variety by the different types of lines. This helps compose a pleasing print. It helps bring it together and make sense.
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A baren is often used in relief printing to make a crisp even transfer of ink to the paper.
You can find barens made of bamboo and more modern materials at online stores and big chain art stores.
I like to use what I have before I go buy a new art tool, so I have tried:
Some folks recommend a wooden spoon. But I like to have a bigger surface.
I made a simple baren with some simple tools that I had in the studio. You will need:
You may be able to substitute some of the supplies with things that you have in your studio. Look around and think outside the box.
The goal is to make a hand held tool that will slide evenly over the paper and help to apply even pressure to the paper. And help you make beautiful prints!
This is what I did to make a homemade baren for printmaking:
Interested in more history about barens then check out McClain’s. They have some great info.
If you are interested in relief printing and want to learn more then join us in the next class – check out the printmaking workshop page.
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Soft block relief printing is a great way to get started with printmaking.
In the print above, I used black and white ink and 3 foam plates. I played with design elements like value, repetition and balance.
This printmaking process is good for folks who want to explore printmaking but do not have access to a press. It can be done very easily in your home studio.
One thing I have done with all the printing plates in the picture above is kept them all the same size so I can layer and combine them to make interesting larger prints.
If you would like to explore drawing, pressing and printing with soft block relief plates, then check out the details on the printmaking workshops page.
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As a mixed printmaker, I like to combine techniques to make unique prints. I also like to use non-toxic methods that do not require a printing press.
One way I use a relief plate is to lift ink off of the gelatin plate. It gives you a monochromatic impression on the plate, that can then be printed on to paper. In the print above, I used the relief plate to make the impression in the ink on the gelatin plate and then I printed the impression on to paper and collaged it into a small book.
The second way I like to use relief plates is to directly stamp a focal image on to a mixed media print. The black figure is a carve relief plate and was printed several times in 2 different directions to create the focus of this print.
The third way is to repeated print the plate to create a patterned background, or a textural layer. In the fabric print above, I used 9 different relief plates to create this textile print. There are 3 layers of printing, a yellow, an orange and the dark orange on top that unifies the whole print.
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