Sunday, July 21, 2013

Pax

We have spent a really wonderful day with our local Maleny Printmakers group here at our place. We decided to have a play day and test out "kitchen lithography" which is all about using stuff around the house to create prints.  Eight of us gathered, and watched the video and were inspired and dumbfounded by the ease of it all - how cool, we could create prints so easily!

Laugh.  All eight of us tried, and failed to get even a mark on our aluminium. Then we did variations, tried new things, did this, did that, walked backwards in a circle three times... you name it we tried it, and yep, still none of us got a mark to appear, let alone print!

Luckily we had lots of food, and coffee.

The afternoon was way more successful, with copper sulphate etching onto aluminium plates. I'll try to show you some photos of that later on - I didn't check if I could blog on them sorry!

In other work around the place I have been embossing, and trying out three-tiered embossing as well.  So far so good, although it took me quite a few tries to wrap my brain around the process and to get the sequencing right.

X marks the spot, on velvety soft Arches Velin.


Sorting out my letters and taping them in place.


My very sophisticated light box - paper taped to the sliding door of the shed!


The last template to be worked on.


And the result...


This is not too bad for a trial. You can tell is a trial because the letters are too close together, unlike the letters in the photos above. I haven't gotten around to photographing the other piece - it was swept up in the tidying of the studio before today's play day.

Still, I do like the extra 3-D nature of these letters and think I shall have fun exploring them.

10 comments:

  1. Three tiered embossing looks quite complicated. I would never have thought this was just a trail since it's turned out so well. Sounds like you had fun with your printmakers group. I'm sure someone will come up with the solution before the week is out.

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    1. Thanks Robyn - we had a great day even tho half of it was a complete failure. Nothing quite like everybody failing together tho! The embossing is tricky in terms of trying to work out what to put where and when...working backwards and back to front.

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  2. Lovely letters. It's great when it works out isn't it?

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    1. Thanks Lyndell - I love it when you crack it. I have quite a few failures in my pile where I got myself confused, but think I've worked it out...perhaps until next time!

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  3. My, the tripple layered embossing might test my patience if I were making it, but it looks amazing.

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    1. Thanks Valerianna - I am way behind in life and comments. It did my head in a bit I must say.

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  4. Came across some great embossed letter plates on the blog of a calligrapher called Lin Kerr, based here in the UK. Will try and send you the link. I've had the coke, the soap and the foil etc ready for that kitchen litho for ages and now I'm wondering how to make it work. If your collected brains couldn't get a decent mark what hope do I have! Love the embossed Pax. Is that Neuland or something designed by yourself?

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    1. Thanks Lesley! I'd still love to see what happens if you try - I am thinking it might be in the ingredients somehow - our foil or our coke - yours might be different? Pax is Neuland indeed - well sotted! Sure you're not a calligrapher lurking?

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  5. Your embossing is beautiful, Fiona, and certainly looks complicated to achieve. What a lovely effect!

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    1. Thanks Carol - you are so kind. It is interesting for sure, and I think I may have just mastered it a bit.

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