Callograph Printing

Collagraph printing.

A collagraphy print has the same techniques when creating an intaglio. The final piece is a lot different to an intaglio but they both require a very similar process when creating them.
Collagraph print is formed by creating texture onto either a plate made from wood or strong cardboard.
The main thing with this type of print is to ensure that all materials are stuck down firmly. This is key when it comes to actually printing them.
To get an even print you should try keep height levels similar and not too uneven so that the press captures all detail.

To create my collagraph prints I started by using small square plates to create test pieces, this gave me a rough idea of what materials worked well, how the press would capture the texture it has and what effects they individually produce. I applied a thick layer of PVA glue and firmly stuck down my materials.
Once dry, apply shellac all over your plate; this will protect it. With this type of printmaking you need to understand the limitations of the materials used, such as applying ink and putting it through the press.



To print, I  first produced one called 'embossed print' This means I only used the plate, I didn't add any colouring or ink to it, just to define the textures I had used, this  made it easy to see what materials worked better than others. I then moved on to inking up my plate using Etching ink. When applying this product try to stick to a minimal amount as a little goes a long way.
Using circular motions with scrim to enable it to capture all detail when being pressed. I then used tissue paper to wipe away the excess ink.
When printing its best to use damp watercolour paper, this helps pick up all ink within the texture.

These were test pieces to get an insight on what types of materials create different textures, i then moved on to creating my larger Collagraph plates, I decided to use a fair few of the same textures I used on my experimental plates as I liked the texture they created. I changed the overall design of my larger plates and manipulated some of the more flimsy material to create a textured surface.

With my larger plates I chose to play around with the colours  and techniques, to get an understanding of the limitations with each material I chose to work with. I didn't stick to one major colour scheme, I liked the idea of using colours I think would define the texture and show the range of detail within it. To get a blended effect with the ink I simply used scraffito, this is a small piece of material used when working with textured plates. I used circular motions which will enable the ink to get in all the small detail, I then used tissue paper to against rub over he plate to eliminate all excess ink that's not needed.
 
I like the final finish of my prints, I think some materials captured more texture than  others, but overall they all had interesting outcomes. To improve the prints I should have added less amounts of ink and stuck to a range of 2-3 colours at most if I wanted to use the blending technique. I think too much colour going on in one print will over-power the textures.
An artist linked to collagraphy would be Barbara Rae.

 

She's an artist that works with painting, sketching and printmaking.  I find Rae's work to be quite child-like when it comes to use of colours and imagery, however i do find her to be quite unique with her techniques. I don't think she's a very influential artist, when looking at her work it doesn't give me any urge to create an outcome inspired by her.