Sunday, February 1, 2015

Grasshopper First print

I’ve been sketching grasshoppers over on the blog I share with Sue. See the sketches here. We are focusing on a small community wood  which is really a little nature reserve and I have decide to make a set of work about things that “sing” in some way.

Grasshoppers and crickets are another wonderful sound of a UK summer, along with the bees, so they are one of the subjects I will be working on.
I am not sure I can really call this a grasshopper its a bit of a hybrid mix and I have taken quite a bit of artistic license with it, but it’s fine for some more experiments and does have some of the essence of the sketches and grasshoppery-ness about it. I have been reading about the difference between crickets and grasshoppers and, as usual, it all becomes more and more fascinating the more you find out.

IMG_5277

Drawing, block  and first proof…

 first-proof

I have quite a few more prints and drawings and ideas for this little chap in progress so more soon.

Saturday, January 24, 2015

A Small Frog “book”.

In order to try some book forms I have been using some old prints. It’s not really a book but a folded print  contained in two stuff covers.

It amazes me how much can go wrong with such a simple exercise. Very accurate measuring and cutting is essential but without a proper guillotine its tricky but I am improving.  The covers are simple thin card covered with an old frog print with a few additions

 cover

Cover

frog booklet 1

It does stand up.

back and front 

Front and back

front and back

Opened out

open frog

The frog print unfolded.

It was a good exercise but it needs a bit more attention. The back of the print needs  printing.It needs a fastener and you would have to keep the back of the print in mind when printing to make it acceptable but it’s a neat way to present a print…..if you don’t mind the print being folded!!

These folded forms are very nice for presenting a small amount of information. Something I am thinking about.

Sunday, January 18, 2015

Into 2015 with Eel Print Trials

My first post to Print Daily 2015! I have spent a bit of time updating this blog with past prints. It’s useful for me to see how and if the work has developed. Apologies to anyone who subscribes to this neglected blog and received a deluge of posts .. hopefully it will all be a bit more regular from now on. I have given myself  a pretty strict work regime…for now anyway

I am playing with all sorts of printing methods at the moment and wanted to make a simple concertina book to practice a bit more simple bookbinding. I like eels. The story of their life cycle is amazing and worth a little book perhaps?

But to start with some sketches and a first couple of print trials.

eels-2

eels-1

Here are a couple of plates cut from card. I  made a couple of card plates for the moon project but they were not terribly successful. Now I have made up some of my own shellac which I think will help.

eel--plates

eels4-bg

Trials with different weights of ink

first-eel-bg

A first folded print… more experiments to come.