Monoprinting - 13th February, 2019


Today we set out to explore monoprinting - this is a form of printmaking that can only be made once, unlike most forms of printmaking which allows for multiples - block printing is an example of this - used by the printers at Stead McAlpin's 150 years ago -  where a pattern carved into a wooden block - and then repeatedly printed to make a continuous pattern.

Before we starting printing, Jac, our artist showed us an example of printed fabric from Ferguson's Print Works - which Chloe held up for us to see.

Ferguson's were textile manufacturers and printers at Holme Head from 1824 to 1991.  This had been printed for Liberty of London and was called 'Fish and Ships'.



We all had a close look at how the pattern had been created by using simple shapes and discussed how this had been printed on a rotary printer similar to the video we had watched  .....


...each colour had been printed separately by a roller and we could tell by the guide that runs down the side of the fabric how many colours had been used - we counted these and found where they had been used in the pattern.

There are many types of monoprinting and we experimented today with printing from a smooth and textured surface. 





We started with inking up a smooth glass surface and experimented with different ways of making marks into the surface using cotton buds, pieces of card and even our fingers  Some we found worked better than others!




Also we found out that if we took too long on our design, the ink had dried and our print was not clear. 

This can be annoying but is part of learning a new process and we soon realized what we needed to do to improve the prints we were getting.







Ink had dried slightly before print was made -
but great example of remembering our writing would be reversed!

 Well done Chloe.








Great examples of one colour monoprints
Monoprinting from cling film for texture   
Textured monoprint
After taking one print, we experimented adding another colours.......this worked really well...




Outcomes from a very messy creative day!  Well done everyone.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stead McAlpin, Print Works, Cummersdale

Image
Stead McAlpin, Cummersdale This week 30th January,  Ros Downing was due to visit us and give us a talk on the history of Stead McAlpin printworks in Cummersdale but unfortunately had to cancel due to illness. Although not in as much detail as Ros could have told us, we looked at the history of Stead McAlpin who have had a factory at Cummersdale since 1835 and is the only surviving print works in Carlisle and the most versatile print maker in the UK, using rotary, flatbed and digital printmaking. We talked about what life would have been like as a print worker in the 1800s.  The factory would have been unheated, the only light coming from candles stuck into blocks of wood hanging from the roof.  Many bleaching and dyeing processes involved harsh chemicals and unpleasant substances - lime and dung for instance.  Working conditions would have been harsh for unskilled workers and a long apprenticeship would have to be served to become a printer, who were the el...
Read more

Building our banners 1 - 19th June, 2019

Image
Our two main large banners will be made up of approximately 30 printed pieces for each class and using a tessellated brick design will symbolize our journey in building our knowledge of the history of our local textile heritage. Using our notes and drawings from looking through our sketchbooks and our blog last week, we started to think about what we could include on our individual piece which was our decision. It needs to be bold, bright and striking as it will be seen from a distance   We will use a combination of techniques to achieve this. We started by adding blocks of colour - some made by printing and others by painting.  A really good print using impressed polystyrene tile We masked off areas then used fabric paint to paint blocks of bright colour. Some engraved textile inspired drawings into foam and printed onto the fabric. Over the next few weeks we shall be adding more detail.  We aim to have two or three ...
Read more

The Journey of Raw Cotton - Carlisle Ship Canal 1823 - 1853 - 22rd May, 2019

Image
Carlisle Ship Canal by local historian and author David Ramshaw  - As part of tracing the journey of raw cotton to the Mills in Carlisle we today learned how cotton made its way from the port of Whitehaven into the centre of Carlisle. Britain was developing fast - there was a high need for a cheap and reliable way to transfer raw and manufactured materials to and from the new factories and canal building was at its height.  Factories were being built in Carlisle to meet the demand replacing the hand loom weavers and more people were coming into Carlisle to work in the mills.  But Carlisle had poor transport links - goods were transported to and from Carlisle to the Solway ports by horse and cart along inadequate roads.  A river - the Eden connected Carlisle to the sea but was shallow, ships could get so far but ran aground.  The local council looked at the possibility of building a canal from the Solway coast to Newcastle - money was raised by the sale o...
Read more