No Fixed Abode

This year I had three pieces accepted into Edinburgh Printmakers members exhibition. The subject was a very difficult one, as it was to raise awareness of homelessness. I did three fairly small prints for it, using one of my favourite techniques - photoetching. From start I knew I didn't want them to be too literal.

Photo Etching part two.

As I said before I was going to go back to do more photo etching and the second time round take more pictures. Although now I realise I could have still probably taken more pictures... I think this will be it for now!

First of all the plate needs to be filed and degreased. This is not as exciting so skipping that part :P Once it's ready you take it to the Dark Room, which is filled with yellow light.

Next you stick a layer of your photec - the funny blue film that looks incredibly green here - onto your plate.

Then it goes through the minipress as it has to stick down well!

Then you pop bubbles, make sure it's all good, run it through press again and cut off the excess.

Next you put positive on your plate and expose it. No pictures of exposure unit I'm afraid!

After that it goes in a special bath that develops photec and all the unexposed bits come off. A bit like when you are preparing screen for screenprinting! This is probably the reason why I love this process so much :)

You then proceed and show it to Laura who makes a funny face.

Then it's the Acid Time! I have lots of black surfaces so mine goes in for a few minutes and if it's ok I then proceed to aquatint it. And then it goes back into acid, and when it returns....

...The remaining photec and aquatint have to be removed, so it goes in yet another bath. That's the last one though! Then we're ready to print.

Inked up plate!

And the first proof!

By no means this is finished though. I want the Moon to be a bit lighter than the rest of the image, so I tried to brasso out the face of the moon - results above, you can see my face in the Moon's face! :) I will keep going at it though, hopefully in 2 weeks time you will see the proper finished print though! (prints need to sit in a drying area for like a week...)

This is it for now. So here, have a picture of Katt Monsen:

Photoetching

On Saturday I did a photoetching class at Edinburgh Printmakers.

I love printmaking - the idea of it, as I have always been obsessed with work that can be reproduced/be multiple copies of the same thing. I have tried woodblock, lino, drypoint, some monoprints (that I didn't really like because they were... mono prints), screenprinting (big love)... But I never did any etching based things. And this course I booked thinking it was actually something slightly different (that also uses photec), I did  in in the spur of the moment really. And not regretting one bit, quite the opposite :)

It was AMAZING fun, as I have never done any etching before. But this being something between screenprinting and intaglio... My geek mode certainly kicks in ;)
I am now also working on a series of drawings that I think will all slowly turn into photoetchings... I just love it THAT much. It feels like a whole new world of opportunities has opened :)

So it's a story of how this...

...turned into this!

And a snapshop of the lovely tutor and some other folks that also did the class and their work.

Actually, there is no story here really. I will have some more inbetween process pictures next time... Or maybe a picture of a plate?

Anyway - the course at Edinburgh Printmakers was fantastic and I just kind of want to do more!