Distant Conversations - An Isolation Themed NZ Print Exchange

Back in March, as our borders were closing and our sense of isolation was increasing, printmaker Celia Walker suggested a print exchange as both a distraction and a way of keeping connected.  16 New Zealand printmakers from Northland down to Christchurch have created a beautiful collection of works that will be an evocative memento of this period in time.

 

 

 

 

The Distant Conversations isolation print exchange was exhibited 

 

at the Depot Artspace in Devonport 

 

from Saturday 31 October - 18 November, 2020. 

 

 

 

 

 

Distant Conversations Print Exchange, 2020

 

 

 The Prints

 

 

 

Communication station, Celia Walker, Auckland

 

  Drypoint and rust print 

 

Filtering through the white noise of media releases, radio reports, television broadcasts are other more essential conversations and connections. My daily walks sometimes take me past the radio masts on Takarunga/Mt Victoria – I am not sure what conversations they are receiving but they make me think of short-wave radio networks and half-heard voices from overseas.

 

 

 

 

Brunch with the Baphomet, Martinus Sarangapany, Coromandel

 

 

 Woodcut 

 

In search for equilibrium 

We brunch with the Baphomet. 

A deity neither he nor she, 

An in-between, judging nothing, seeing all. 

We twist our tongues, all but lies;

 And are seen. 

 

“They will be the death of you.” 

“I know.” We reply. 

But how to sever the hydra’s head, 

When one is cut now two instead 

And all be fed. 

Self consumption. 

 

“Solve and Coagula.” 

And so we eat, 

And digest.

Rongoā Māori, Jasmine Horton, Whangarei

 Double exposure cyanotype 

 

My series titled ‘Rongoā Māori’ is essentially about the care and co-ordination of our Maori communities that I witnessed during Level 4 Lockdown. I watched Iwi leaders and organisations come together and employ Māori to create rongoā and care packages for our most vulnerable families especially our kuia and kaumatua. It was a beautiful sight to behold. Naturally my concern during this pandemic has been Māori health, our people historically haven’t fared well during flu pandemics and this was, and still is, troubling to me. It was great to see community leaders working together to help protect our people.

 

 

 

And with that a touch,Virginia Guy, Hikurangi

 Solar plate on hahnemuhle paper 

 

I sneaked just a touch of my wee grandsons hand, it was lockdown and we had not had a day that we hadn't touched, a week was long enough, no one saw. The empty gap between our hands now no more. 

 

 

 

Dreams of Travelling Again, Prue MacDougall, Auckland

 

 

 Hand printed photopolymer intaglio etching 

Paper: vintagepaper.co.uk (J Green and Sons 100% cotton made between 1969 and 1974) Printmaker 

Prue MacDougall often explores themes of journeying, which is now just a dream during the Covid19 Pandemic.

Caution: Not a straight line, Toni Mosley, Auckland

 Screenprint 

The tin can telephone maybe a distant memory as we now are connected through technology. Even with easier access to each other does not mean it is straight forward as we have multiple platforms to connect and this takes us on a bit of meandering path to each other.

Clouds Rubbing Together, Kim Lowe, Christchurch

 

Pencil rubbing, gold leaf 

Clouds Rubbing Together is a series of pencil rubbings over woodblock plates. The composition reflects the abstracted land, sea and skyscapes that I've been working on lately in both woodblock and ink painting.

Solus, Oxford, Celia Wilson, Oxford

Woodcut 

I miss my lovely old house on the outskirts of Oxford, so this print has a double meaning. I see Mt Oxford from my new home, which makes up for the loss of the old place. A reflection on thoughts that somehow link to lockdown.

Memory Waka, Faith McManus, Kaipara

 

Reduction woodcut 

The Memory Waka is about a combination of both safety and movement. The Green Mini was purchased by my Grandparents in 1963. I lived with them and they represent all that is beautiful in life and memory to me. When I remember our little green mini waka I feel comforted. Our country Aotearoa reminds me of this little green mini somehow.

Me and My Cat, Rosie Parsonson, Whangarei

 Drypoint 

This drypoint etching Me and My Cat, is a representation of the fond memories and the conversations my cat and myself pretended to understand, as we walked and played in the garden during our isolation over lockdown this year 2020.

**Untitled, Suzette van Dorsser, Auckland

 

Woodcut 

 

I experienced the Covid 19 lockdown as drawing the curtains and screening out the outside world. I really enjoyed how layering the woodcuts over the portrait completely changed the perception of the subject. They are immediately rendered 'removed' or 'mysterious' and I love playing with those feelings in my work. I find it fascinating to look past facades, so I masked my portraits with veils. 

Untitled, Suzette van Dorsser, Auckland

**Suzette's prints were all variations on her theme. 

This is the print I received in the exchange.

Stick to your Bubble, Toni Hartill, Auckland

 

 

 

Linocut

At a time when we were confined to our homes and our lives had to slow right down, snails seemed to be a particularly apt totem. The snail's habit of withdrawing into its shell when a threat is perceived, and its ability to seal itself away for long periods, being completely self-reliant, seemed especially relevant.

 

(Click HERE to see an earlier post about the making of this print 

and to purchase one of the last few available prints.)

 

 

Empty Passage, Kyla Cresswell, Wellington

 

Drypoint

 

 This drypoint reflects the quiet of the usually busy Wellington harbour passage during the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. Living on the coast at the harbour entrance, we are in tune with the regularity of the ferries—the thrum of their engines causes the glasses cabinet to rattle while the lights glide by at night—and the numerous freight ships, piled high with colourful containers, have been a subject of my photographs for the last 15 years. There has been a great sense of being connected and made aware of the goings on in the city through seeing the various ships pass. Cruise ships with a load of overseas visitors set to experience Wellington, fishing trawlers with a fresh catch, recreational kayakers, the NIWA boat heading out for scientific research, and yachts setting off for the sounds. It’s easy to imagine the lives and destinations of those on board. We have even been known to wave large colourful blankets from the beach at the ferries to bid our friends on an Interislander goodbye. However, the lockdown ended all cruise ships, the ferries still ran with freight but the harbour was so empty, with few signs of human life. One of the points of connection with the outside world was lost; only the empty harbour passage with the headland of Baring Head and the cry of the black backed gulls remained.

The Sun always Shines, Esther Hansen, Auckland

 Monoprint, Linocut and collage, E.V. 

 

The pop group A-Ha had a song, The Sun always shines on T.V, it is a song about anxiety, contrasting real life with the world of television. During lockdown the world has felt small and overwhelming at the same time. A sunset is all about perspective, the daily disappearance of the sun below the horizon due to earth’s rotation. It is also a beacon of optimism and hope. Like TV, in a world of art, the sun is always shining. We bear responsibility for bringing light into dark times.

 

Reverse: The Sun always Shines, Esther Hansen, Auckland

An extra treat with Esther's print is 

there is a bonus print on the back!

Readjustment, Elle Anderson, Taumaranui

 Cyanotype and hand-printed words 

 

Just before lockdown a log became stranded on the Whanganui River just outside our place - delicately balancing itself on a rock shelf. Waiting to be re-floated and to continue on its way as it was intended - to float gently on the current, partially in charge of its destiny. To maybe one day reach the ocean. During the lockdown a rebalancing needed to occur. A questioning of what and who is important in our lives. readjustment questions this personal rebalancing, that may have gotten out of balance prior to the 4 weeks of imposed stay at home time. Are you in charge of your destiny? Or do you just go with the flow and hope you end up where you intended to be?

Care, Kathy Boyle, Hawkes Bay

 Waterless lithography and relief 

 

Over the last few months I have been recording the social distancing signage on the floors of public spaces. The noughts and crosses acted as visual reminder to us maintain a safe distance from each other and endorsed the message of care for others, reminiscent of the symbols we use for hugs and kisses.

I'd like to thank Celia for organising this exchange, for inviting ME to take part, 

and for making possible the opportunity to exhibit the collection.

I'd also like to thank each of the participating artists 

for taking part and sharing their fabulous works.

 

This will most definitely be a collection of works to be treasured,

and to look back on as marking this time in our lives with a particular poignancy.

Thanks for visiting!

Lino printing t-shirts - my thoughts on Speedball Fabric Ink

Lino printed t shirts byToni Hartill

As I've had a few inquiries from other printmakers I'd thought I'd share
my experience of lino printing t-shirts, and the inks I've used.

Last year I was lucky enough to get my hands on a box set of Speedball Block Printing ink, designed for fabric and paper. I've long wanted to trial print some t-shirts using my linocuts. I have used water-based Flint ink in the past but, even with heat-setting the ink with a hot iron, the ink is not designed for this purpose so I don't feel confident with its longevity.

This set of inks comes with 6 x 37ml tubes of black, white, red, yellow, blue and green.

According to the instructions the inks don't need to be heat set.

Instead just leave the inks to "cure" fully for 4 - 7 days, then they can be washed. 

As an extra precaution I have ironed prints with a warm iron for several minutes. 

My initial printed tees have weathered well and been washed cautiously a couple of times. 

They seem to be lasting well, so far. 

Meanwhile, a t-shirt I printed for my husband was, unknowingly, put through a normal wash with a full load of washing and I did notice that it faded in that first wash. It hasn't faded any further in subsequent washes.

Below is a step-by-step description of how I printed my t-shirts.

Preparations

Slip a thick piece of paper inside the t-shirt where the image will be printed to stop ink bleeding through the fabric. Mark where the lino block will be positioned on the t-shirt using tape.

The first two photos are the set-up used to print my snail bubble print.

 Below shows the press set-up for printing my large "Snaily" lino block.

"Snaily" t shirt by Toni Hartill

 The Speedball inks have a bit of a smell although not over-powering. I would still recommend using them in a well ventilated area. They wash out with soap and water so clean-up is EASY!

Black Speedball Ink - My thoughts

The black ink has a very slightly thicker "gritty" or matte texture and so it rolls out nice and evenly, creating an even and dense layer and rolls onto the lino solidly.

Lino cut inking up by Toni Hartill

 If I was printing multiple t-shirts I would cut a heavy paper mask to protect the surrounding areas where I don't want to get any ink. Even when taking a lot of care it is very easy for the roller to accidentally get ink on the background. I think its easier not to get ink where you don't want it than to try to remove ink once its there!

In this case, as I was only printing a single t-shirt I just masked the areas with tape. The tape is removed after inking and before printing. In this case the tape was able to be removed as a complete shape and reused for the next print.

Its important to make sure you ink up the plate evenly with thin coats getting to all of the edges and details. Holding the block up to the light helps to check the surface is fully coated but it can still be difficult to be sure. For this reason I think it is important to work in a methodical manner inking up each area of the block.

Inking up with black Speedball ink,  Toni Hartill

Inking up with black Speedball ink,  Toni Hartill

 Printing

 Set the press up as you would normally to print lino. I use wooden runners and thin mdf "pushers" instead of blankets. The pressure is set firmly down onto the runners but not overly tight. You do need to take in to account the thickness of the t shirt.

The press set-up Toni Hartill

The reveal

Note: Unusually, this lino block has a border of lino left surrounding the image and this has left a pale rectangular mark on the t-shirt from the pressure. This will disappear once the t-shirt has been washed for the first time.  

"Stick to your Bubble" lino printed t shirt by Toni Hartill

My "Stick to your Bubble" linocut was created for a print exchange "Distant Conversations" inspired by the experience of being in "lockdown" during the Covid-19 pandemic. Visit my earlier post here to view the making of and more about the prints, including how to purchase.

"Snaily" Linocut T shirt by Toni Hartill

Coloured Speedball Inks - My Thoughts

The coloured inks seem to be slightly thinner, less opaque, less sticky and therefore to have a slightly translucent quality. When they roll out they feel more slippery and I found it was difficult to rollout an even area of thin ink. The instructions on the box say to use a hard rubber roller while the instructions in the online video say to use a soft rubber roller. I used a hard Esdee roller rather than my soft Speedball roller. The soft Speedball one may have been better but I was following the instructions on the box.

 In my first batch of t-shirts I trialed using the coloured inks and printed a teal version of my rockpool lino block using a mix of blue and green ink. Likewise I found the coloured ink to be harder to roll out and to coat the lino block evenly although the final print was mostly even. Not "perfect" but not too bad.

Rockpool lino printed t shirt by Toni Hartill

To mix the slightly purple colour of the ink for my bubble print I mixed blue and red ink. I tried adding a little black for depth of tone then added a wee bit of white to try to improve the opacity of the ink but it didn't make much difference.

It was therefore more difficult to evenly ink up the block particularly in the fiddly outer details despite multiple passes with thin coats.

Inking up with coloured Speedball ink,  Toni Hartill

"Stick to your bubble" lino printed t shirt by Toni Hartill

 Comparing the Black vs the Colours

The black ink most definitely produces a much crisper and more solid image than the coloured inks. I have, thus far only used the blue and green inks with a little bit of red and in my experience these colour pigments can tend to be more translucent anyway.

You can see, in the images below, how the ink has printed much more solidly with the black ink than with the blue ink.

Black Speedball ink, Toni Hartill

Coloured Speedball ink, Toni Hartill

Coloured Speedball ink, Toni Hartill

Black Speedball ink, Toni Hartill

You can visit the Speedball website to view their specifications, 

see their FAQs and view a video on how to use the inks.

My impression is that their demonstration of inking up the carved block uses ink in a much thicker application than I would dare (for fear of bleed and filling in fine details). They are, however, printing a simple design by hand in their demonstration and so therefore a thicker coat would be necessary.

In conclusion

All of the t shirts I have printed onto are cotton knit fabrics.

At this point in my experimentations I would recommend the black ink over the coloured inks for inking ease and print quality. I am really pleased with how sharp and clean the ink prints onto the t-shirt fabric.

The coloured inks are more translucent and harder to get a strong clean print with but perhaps this just takes a bit of trial and error to perfect a technique.

I am yet to really "test" the durability of the inks through multiple and "normal" washing but, with a bit of care when washing, they are so far lasting well.

 Of course there are so many variables when printing so I would suggest, if you have the opportunity to give these inks a go, go for it and see what you think.The handy sample pack is a great way to start.

Thanks for visiting!