Sunday, August 5, 2018

Practising and printing

I can barely recall where I was up to with these books; but it has been an interesting process and I have discovered and learned a lot along the way.

I have chosen to print six 'verses' of a poem I have written, onto pages on which I had I printed lino prints based on photographs I had taken of Stone Circles in Scotland.

I had this test page to play with the layout and was happy.  I mentioned the tricks of getting the layout right way back here in June.


Onto the real pages, and I placed a sheet of white paper with the poem printed on it where I thought it might sit.  This was because each page I had printed was different - the height of the print from the bottom of the page; as well as the page sizes themselves.  Why not throw a bunch of complications and calculations into the mix hey?



And then I had a bit of a brain wave - and worked out that if I proofed the verse on goyu paper; it was transparent enough for me to see how the words related to the image, without having much of it masked by the white paper.  Another learning; another win.


So I measured how far the left side was from the edge of the paper and set the press up to locate the print in that location. I did these for each of the five books - measured distance form the bottom; and distance from the edges; moved the chase around in the press to achieve it; marked the press where I needed to line up and then printed.


I have grown fond of this tear in the paper on one of the pages; the grey graphic page.


The pure white page.


 Detail of the tall thin grey stone marks page.


And so by the end of printing, I now have this collection of goyu paper to remind me of proofing with it. It feels like I probably won't forget that trick tho, it worked really well.


11 comments:

  1. I look forward to seeing the finished book and especially would be fascinated to know which stone circles you visited and photographed. We come to North East Scotland often as my husband has family links here going back generations. In fact, as I write, we are staying in Aberdeenshire in the Dee Valley. We have visited many of the local circles over the years and always find them powerful and atmospheric.

    Two years or so ago we had a fascinating week on the Isle of Orkney. A wonderful and extraordinarily compact and well preserved record exists all over the island of ancient buildings, simple lives lived and hints of the spiritual - one of the best I believe in Northern Europe. If you haven’t been, the island is a must for anyone interested in the traces of our past suggested in your book.

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    1. I am not quite sure of each of the circles Margaret/Charlton but shall follow up for you. And yes, Orkney is astonishing! We visited a few years ago and are headed back later in the year which is wonderful. I agree with your sense of the circles being powerful and atmospheric - the poem/words try to reflect just that sense of awe...go well and enjoy your time in Scotland.

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  2. Love the space around the images and the text. Looks beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Lyndell - it was much easier thinking about layout when it was kind of transparent...

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    1. Thanks Mo - I love those serendipitous discoveries!

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  4. F - some pieces just have their own timeline. And the slow pace is worth it in the end. B

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    1. Thanks B - I keep wondering why this one is taking so long, but have no real answer for it! In art, I really do think most things take the time they need...

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  5. the lines are beautifully positioned, I think and the backgrounds ! Oh, just amazing !

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    1. Thanks so much Annick - so glad you think that the words and the space and the background work together!

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  6. Once again, your process astounds ... and you have such wondrous bits to show for it!

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I appreciate your thoughts and comments; thanks for taking the time.