Printing and Creating a Open Bite - Printmaking Day 2

For my second session in the printmaking workshop, we were able to print using the Zinc Plates we prepared the previous session.
To print using this plate, we had to first prepare the paper we were going to print onto. To do this, we dampened the paper, and rolled it in between two layers of blotting paper. Once i had done this, i was asked to apply a little amount of ink onto my plate, and covered the surface of my plate with it by spreading it with a piece of card. I had to ensure that ink was pushed into all of the grooves of my design. Once i had done this, i had to use newspaper to remove the excess ink from my plate, making it look as if there was no ink on the surface to start with, leaving the ink in the grooves of my design.
I then placed my plate onto clean sheets of newsprint on the center of the printing bed, my design facing upwards, placing my dampened paper on the top of it, with more newsprint and a blanket over the top. I then had to wind this through the printing bed without stopping, once my design had gone all the way through, i removed it and placed onto a drying rack for the ink to dry.

After i had done a few of these prints, i was then able to experiment with tissue paper. I repeated the process exactly the same, except when i placed my plate onto the printing bed, i put tissue paper on top, adding glue on top of the tissue paper which touches the dampened paper. I then continued with the same process.

Plain black print.

A print experimenting with ink and tissue paper.

After i had made multiple prints using each process, i was then able to create a plate for an open bite print. To do this, i drew a design onto the back of the zinc plate that i used whilst printing earlier in the workshop. I drew this design on the zinc plate using a black gel type liquid. After i had done this, i had to put a sheet of plastic on the other side of my plate, to protect it from the acid. I then dropped the plate into acid for 5-10 minutes then removed it and rinsed it, cleaning the black liquid off the pattern. After i did this, my plate was ready to use.

My plate before dropping it into the acid.

My plate ready for printing with.

Etching Print - Printing Workshop Day 1

For my first Printing workshop, i learnt how to make an Etching print.
To start off this session, we were given a zinc plate to draw around onto a piece of paper, making 6 boxes. In these boxes we were asked to draw designs of something we would like to print, we were given free reign with this and could draw whatever we wanted. I decided to base my designs on the style of mandala art as this was something that i personally liked. Once i had done this, we were told to file and burnish the edges of the zinc plate we were given, so that the sides of the plate would not rip the paper we would be printing on. I filed down the edges by using a metal file and the handle of a spoon, making the edges smooth. After this i had to de-grease the plate, using wire wool and a solution to remove most of the scratches on my plate. After this we were then told to put our plates onto a hot plate and wait until they were hot, which we then applied hard ground onto using a roller.
Whilst we were waiting for our plates to cool down, i had to choose my favorite design that i had drawn, and draw it onto tracing paper, which i then placed over my cool zinc plate and drew back over so that it transferred onto the plate. After this i was to draw back over my design using an etching needle to expose the zinc beneath. Once id done this i stuck tape on the back, to protect it whilst i put the plate in acid. The acid 'ate away' at the exposed metal and after 5 minutes, i removed the plate and polished it with Brasso, to remove the hard ground and then rinsed it in cold water.
My zinc plate is now ready to use to print onto paper.

Health and Safety
Be aware of the sharp point of the etching needle, do not stab yourself.
Wear protective gloves at all times when near the acid.

My design after exposing the metal with an etching needle.

My design ready for printing with.

Puff Binder and finishing touches - Textiles Workshop Day 4

For my last session in textiles,  i decided to experiment with Puff Binder before adding finishing touches to my work.
Puff Binder is a paste that when heated up, gives a 3D effect to fabric. Puff Binder used straight from the pot will give you a white print, but you can mix it with other pigment inks to get pastel shades.
To use Puff Binder, you use the same method that i did in the last session with screen printing, but instead of using pigment inks, i used this paste. Although the Puff Binder gives good effects, it can only be used on the same screen twice as it easily blocks the screen mesh. To stop this you have o make sure that no paste is left on the screen when you wash it.
To create the 'puff' effect whilst using Puff Binder, you have to add heat to it. To do this i layed my material on a cutting mat, and lightly waved a  heat gun over the fabric, making sure i move it around the whole piece so that i did burn or scorch any area's, and that the whole piece 'puffed' up. I used Puff Binder on many backgrounds, such as fabrics and also newsprint.

Health and Safety
Be aware of hot surfaces when using the heat gun.
Wear protective rubber gloves and apron.
Be aware of wet floors in the wash out area.

Puff Binder on dyed newsprint.

After experimenting with Puff Binder, i was now able to add to some of my pieces, adding stitching and creating new effects.
One of the things that i did was to go over the pattern on a piece that i had screen printed to make it stand out more. I did this by 'drawing' around the pattern using a type of black pigment ink.
I also ripped up dyed fabrics and then sewed them back onto a new piece of fabric to get a different effect.

Outlining a screen print pattern.

Cutting and sewing dyed fabric back together.

Adding stitching to my screen print works.

Puff Binding over the top of different fabric textures.

Screen Printing - Textiles Workshop Day 3

In this session of the Textiles workshop, i learnt the process of screen printing.
To do this, i put a piece of fabric/paper onto the table from the previous sessions, i then put the screen over the top of the item i was printing on, ensuring that the pattern on the screen was also on the item beneath. I then had to place the pigment ink on top of the screen, i then put the squeegee blade into the ink, then putting it behind the ink and with some pressure, pulling it down the screen and applying the pattern onto what i was printing on. I then had to take the ink back up the screen again, making sure that all of the ink went through. I then had to scrape off the excess ink and put it back into the pot, lift the screen up and peel my material from the back of it. I then had to wash the screen, taking it to the wash out area and washing both sides with a hose pipe. Once it is ink free i had to place it in the drying cupboard to dry.
I could keep printing onto the same piece of fabric/paper to create more interesting effects.

Health and Safety
Wear protective rubber gloves and apron.
Be aware of wet floors in the wash out area.

My fabric underneath the screen before it was printed. 

After i had covered the image with ink.

My design after removing the screen.

Felt and Paper Making - Textiles Workshop Day 2

In the second session of my Textiles Workshop, i made my own felt and paper.
The process i used to make felt turned individual wool fibers into fabric without spinning or weaving.
I started with white wool as a base, gently pulling out parts of it and laying them onto bubble wrap in a line, slightly overlapping each other. Once id done this, i repeated this process but layering the parts of wool in the opposite direction (first layer vertically and the second layer horizontally). After id done this, i covered this with a net and sprayed with a solution of washing up liquid and water. I then chose the colours that i wanted to add to the top of my base. I again, pulled parts of this apart and layed them onto the base in the pattern that i wanted. Once i had finished my pattern, i covered my pattern with a net and poured the soap solution onto it, making sure that all of the fibers are wet, pressing the water through the fibers using the palm of my hand. After doing this i removed the net and rolled the fibers up into a sausage shape using the bubble wrap. I applied pressure to this using the palms of my hands and rolled it backwards and forwards for 4-5 minutes, after this i had to unroll the felt and turn it a quarter turn, then roll it back up and repeat the process. I had to repeat this process four times until i had turned the felt in a full circle. I then rolled the felt up in a piece of cotton and placed in a bowl of boiling water, leaving it for a minute. I then had to take the felt out and roll again in bubble wrap for a minute, unwrap it and rinse it in clean water. To finish i layed my felt out flat to dry out.

Health and Safety
While you are working with boiling water, wear rubber gloves.
Point the spray bottle in the direction of felt only, making sure you don't get it in your eyes.

My white Felt Fibers as a base.

After adding coloured fibers to create a pattern.

After i created my felt and left it to dry, i moved on to making my own paper.
The paper pulp that i used was already made up by the technician.
To make my own paper, i used a mesh frame, i submerged this into the tray with the paper pulp in, the mesh facing me. Once submerged, i wriggled my frame around to collect as much paper pulp as i could. Once my frame was covered with the pulp, i gently lifted it out of the water and held it above the tray so that the water would drain back into the tray. I then turned the frame over onto a j-cloth. While the frame was on the cloth, i sponged away any of the excess water from the back of the mesh, which would reduce the drying time and make the paper less fragile. I then gently peeled off the mesh frame, leaving the paper pulp behind on the j-cloth. I left this to dry over-night and peeled off the paper once it was dry.

Health and Safety
Be aware of water spillages.
Be aware of electrics with water.

Sponging away the excess water.

My paper after i peeled off the mesh frame.

Batik - Textiles Workshop Day 1

For my first lesson in the Textiles Workshop, i used the method of Batik.
Batik is a method which uses hot wax as a resistant to protect fabrics from dye. This is best done on light weight fabrics such as silk or cotton lawn as the wax needs to penetrate the fabric completely which is easier to do with lightweight fabrics.
Once the wax was melted, i used a Tjanting tool and sometimes a paintbrush to apply wax onto the fabric. The wax often dripped from the Tjanting tool so i used newsprint to catch any of these drops so they didn't go on my work. Once id completed my pattern using wax, i applied the dye to my fabric. I did this by painting the dye onto my fabric with a paintbrush. I then had the opportunity to put more wax on my fabric (once the first layer of dye had dried, to help with this i rubbed newsprint on it until no more colour was coming out) to layer on colours onto my design. Once i was happy with my design, and the fabric was dry, i had to iron it. Ironing my design in between layers of newsprint would remove the wax and fixes the dye. I had to layer my design under a few sheets of newsprint so that this would catch the excess wax. 

Health and Safety-

The wax can be very hot and stick to your skin, burning it. 

Do not leave the wax pots on unattended in a room.

Take care when using the iron.

Always wear protective rubber gloves and apron.

I enjoyed this session as i had free reign on what designs i wanted to do, as long as they linked in with the nature theme. 

One of my finished designs, using only one layer of wax and dye.

The dye's we were using.

A wax pot and Tjanting tools

Glazing - Ceramics Workshop Day 4

In my final session of my ceramics workshop, we were able to paint and glaze all of our work, ready for firing the last time. I enjoyed this session as it was all relaxed and we were left to do what we wanted to do.

Bugs - Ceramics Workshop Day 3

In this session of my ceramics workshop, i was told to create a 'bug' out of clay.
To do this, i started making two egg type shapes, with a 'lip' at the back to attach them together. I then focussed on creating the 'legs' for my bug. To do this, i rolled sausage shaped piece of clay and cut them to the same size. I then attached them to the bug's body. To ensure that the body didnt 'expload' whilst it was in the kiln, i piereced a small hole in it, so the air can escape. After doing this, i added wings, eyes and spots to finish off my bug. My bug resembled a ladybird as it linked in with the nature theme.
I enjoyed this workshop as we were given a lot of freedom to do what we wanted with our bugs.

Clay Tiles - Ceramics Workshop Day 2

In the second session of my ceramics workshop, we were asked to make a clay tile.
To make this clay tile, i had to cut a rectangular piece of clay and add more clay onto this tile to create a design. Our designs had to be focused on Nature.
I created a tile design that was based on the stripes of a tiger hiding in the woods. I did this by cutting lines of clay to add to the origional tile. After this i then got a small tool and created texture on one side of my tile, by making lines in it to resemble the grass in a forest.
The second tile that i made was not square but a small circular one. For this tile, i started with a small oval type shape, i then cut out petal shapes from the remaining clay. I pinched at the corners of the petals to give them a more naturalistic look, so the sides were not solid lines. After i did this i layered the petals onto the oval shape, to create a flower. As my petals came outwards, i began to bend them back on themselves slightly to again, create a natural look. After i was happy with my flower, i cut off a section of it at the bottom, to create a flat edge which i then stuck to my circular tile.
I enjoyed this session as i got a wide range and a lot of freedom for what i wanted to do on my tiles.