Woodcuts in the making - what am I learning?

I have followed through with my rock pool images, despite setbacks and technical issues, because I am determined to LEARN new tricks through doing. All too often I start on a project, have difficulties, shelve it, and therefore fail to learn from the experience. So... following on from my first rock pool image which started out as a reduction print, I thought I'd share some of the travails I have experienced as I endeavour to learn about woodcut printing.

When I google for information about using MDF/ customwood as a material for woodcuts it seems that people are fairly polarized in their views from "don't use it, it'll wreck your tools, it doesn't cut clean lines, it goes soft and furry..." to "it's cheap and easily obtained, it can be cut to any size or shape, it's easy to cut because it doesn't have a grain..."

My 2c worth: 

• I use it because I have LOTS of off-cuts from making furniture so it IS cheap and to hand. 
• It comes in large sheets 2400mm x 1200mm so it can be cut to any size or shape. It can also be bought in smaller sizes from hardware supplies or craft shops.
• It IS easy to cut because it has no grain.
• Unsealed, the texture of the MDF can show when printing blocks of colour. If you don't want this effect I dealt with this by undercoating the plate first with a standard undercoat-primer and sanding the surface.

Cautions:

• It is hard on your tools - it blunts them fairly quickly so you need to keep them honed.
• It doesn't like getting wet - it will swell, go fluffy, fall apart - so either seal it with shellac if you are going to need to wash the plate or, as I do, just put the plate through the press repeatedly with newsprint to remove the ink as much as possible.
• You don't want to be breathing in the dust so wear a dust mask as a precaution but if if you are cutting with chisels you are unlikely to be snorting up wood chips (I would hope).
• Don't over tighten the press because you can crush MDF but it is pretty robust.

Reduction print: image marked up with a
Sharpie marker to make cutting easier.

"Anchor Me"
Reduction Print

I was fairly pleased with the results of this first print but

I wondered what it would look like with a second tone of colour.

The image re-cut as 3 separate plates, still in a rectangle format.

So, step 2: I decided to cut 2 more plates to accompany the black plate but there was still something that bothered me:  it was very difficult to ink up a rectangular plate and NOT get ink where I didn't want it, especially in the hole in the middle. For this style of image I wanted it to be really clean edged. I don't have a hard, large roller that is wider than the plate so I am trying to ink up in all directions with a much smaller roller.

So... I cut around the images with a scroll saw and chiseled and sanded the edges to a bevel all around.

The plates have been cut out with a scroll saw
and the edges sanded to a bevel all around.

Of course, this was going to make registering a bit tricky! My solution: I drew cross-hairs on the back of the plates and matched this to lightly drawn cross-hairs on my printing paper. It took a fair amount (LOTS) of fiddling around to get it worked out initially and would have been much easier had I started out with this intention. 

TIP: Don't draw pencil lines where you will be printing - it will show through the ink and you can't erase it once it is printed over!

Backs of the plates showing cross-hairs for registering.

I liked the cleaner edges I achieved through doing this so big tick so far. 

Next step: I wanted to create a more organic image and I wanted to see what it would be like with more colours. Of course, why not make it trickier! So, a new image was drawn up and 4 plates were cut. 

I undercoated the MDF this time and sanded the surface to see if I might get a cleaner print. Interesting to note that any brush marks will print which can give a lovely effect, rather like wood grain. 

Note to self - this is something to experiment with further next time.

To work out the 4 plates I designed, cut and printed the black plate first. I then scanned this into my computer, opened it in Photoshop and used "layers" to "play" with colour options and placement. Inspired I thought! Oh how I love technology!

The 4 blocks that make up the image "Deep Down"

First block printed.
Note the light pencil registration marks on the paper
which match up with the cross hair pencil marks
on the back of each block.

Inking up the 2nd block.
Note: I did 2 colour versions of this block,
one with a purple and one with a more muted soft grey.

Printing the 2nd block.
This shows how it was not an easy task to register the overlapping blocks with each other.

The 2nd block printed.
This is a purple version of the print.

This is the 3rd block printed (over a grey version of block 2).

The final block inked and ready to print.

The final (4th) block registered and ready to print.

"Deep Down" ~ The completed image (purple version).

Although there were lots of little niggles along the way I've been learning lots of things through trial and error.

 My biggest gripe, ongoing, is the quality of the printing inks. I've tried Fas water-based inks: they give clean, bright and glossy colours BUT they remain water soluble. Next I used water-based Flint inks BUT the red and blue are grainy and leave tiny speckles in light colours which is not desirable when you are wanting a nice clean image. Researching relief inks perhaps I should use oil-based inks BUT aaaargh, I can't stand the cleanup. I know Charbonnel Aquawash may be an alternative but they are expensive and I'd love to hear first-hand if anyone has used them for relief prints. 

So, if anyone out there can recommend inks that they use for relief prints of this sort I'd love to hear from you.

Hope you find something useful in my experiments. Happy printing!

Woodcuts on Show - in Hawera and Takapuna, NZ.

I have just hung work in an exhibition with my print group, Waitakere Printers Ink, at the Bruce Mason Centre in Takapuna. Determined to continue to develop my skills using woodblocks I created a series of prints based on my continuing theme of rock pools. 

The first image I created was a 2 colour reduction print called "Anchor Me." The title was inspired by the shape of the image which reminds me of the shape of a traditional Maori anchor stone. I was also exploring the idea of what it might be like to retreat into a rock pool to hide from the outside world, safe and secure - anchored - (ignoring any risks of hungry crabs of course!) There is also a bit of ambiguity here, are we, the viewer, looking INTO a pool or are we looking OUT? 

"Anchor Me"
Reduction Woodcut Print
by Toni Hartill

For the second image I wanted to explore the possibilities a little further so I designed and cut 2 more blocks to print two tones of teal green prior to the black layer. This image is richer in colour and yet less punchy as there are no white highlights. For the presentation I layered up 4 prints, cutting out the centre of the image and rotating each print until I was happy with the composition. I titled this print "Set Me Free" as a follow-on from "Anchor Me". This time I was imagining what it might be like to have the freedom to go off on an adventure in a rock pool (again ignoring the munchy things.)

"Set Me Free"
3 Block Woodcut prints, layered
by Toni Hartill

For my next image I wanted my rock pool to be less symmetrical, more free-form. I was inspired by actual rock pools at Takapuna Beach for this one and I was particularly taken with the fluted barnacles that grew in "blossoms" around the pools. Taking what I had learnt from the last print I decided to make things even more tricky for myself and go for 4 blocks. This of course increased the challenge of registering each layer (but since when do I take the easiest route?!) My initial vision was to create an image with quite vibrant colours (as the real rock pools are a deep pinky purple) but I also wanted to see it in more muted colours, more restful. I also experimented with adding texture to the water of the pool, giving the impression of being IN the pool, looking out, hence the title "Deep Down".

"Deep Down"
4 block woodcut print
by Toni Hartill

"Deep Down"
4 block woodcut print
by Toni Hartill

In April I sent one of my woodcut prints, "Deep Down", to the Lysatt-Watt Gallery in Hawera to be a part of the Central Print Council's "Devil in the Detail" exhibition. The theme of the exhibition required the print to either include the letter D in the image, or for the title of the work to begin with D.  Although I couldn't make it to Hawera in person to see the exhibition it looks like it was a wonderful show of members from around the country. Thanks CPCANZ.

My print "Deep Down" can be seen just to the left of the arch.

Illustrations of water features

One of the many things I've been working on of late are a series of illustrations, for a landscaping company, Cempro, to promote their man-made water features on-line. My name was put forward for the job, with others', and I took the opportunity to "run" with it as I am looking to do more illustration work and to stretch my creative wings with new projects. Although I had never done any work of the sort before that combines the use of illustration with photographic images I figured that I had enough skills to set me on my way and I have since honed these skills through the process of doing. 

The task of illustrating gardens harps back to a previous life when I worked for a design company and I would do landscape impressions for people looking to enhance and develop their properties. Something I didn't take into account in quoting for the job was how long it would take to come up with a suitable planting scheme to suit each water feature and style of garden as I wanted the plants to mostly be real and identifiable, not just random indistinguishable greenery. As it turns out it has been a bonus for the client to have identifiable selections of plants - he is confident that it will help to sell his products as it will help people to know how to plant them up. 

Illustration roughs

Before I set my brushes to work, his photographer, Shelley Lewis, had to photograph each of the features with water running through them. She then prepared the files for me as a silhouetted image on a transparent background. I then used her images to work up a rough in pen and wash which I would submit for approval. 

Illustration final - watercolour

I would then go on to create the final image on heavy watercolour paper, starting with the watercolour and finishing with the line work using a pigmented liner.

Illustration final - pen work

The last step was to merge the two images on Photoshop.

Illustration-the merged image

This is still work in progress as I await the next batch of products to work on. It will be some time yet before the images are on-line, presumably on a newly designed website. 

Watch this space. 

Although challenging on several levels, it has also been a thoroughly enjoyable experience, especially getting me working in watercolours again, which I haven't used for a very long time. And, having the excuse to pour over gardening books and to peer into people's gardens to look for inspiration. I also find that I am looking at plants in a totally new light again - as in how I would draw them and render them in watercolour.

My Printmaking Press set-up

It's been a little over 6 months since we (mostly hubby) transformed a rusty old 1908 Ewbank "Little Giant" mangle into a printmaking press, and it has been busy ever since! It's come to my attention that others are interested in what I'm up to in my basement workshop and so I thought I'd share some info about how I have set up my press with minimal outlay, using found and re-purposed bits and bobs.

Detail: "Rockpool ~ Softly Sleeping", Drypoint

Initially, when we finished restoring the mangle, I was working on dry points using plexi-plate, oil-based inks and soaking my paper. The press can be cranked up really tight and I'm really happy with the results.

Woodblock print in progress

Now that I'm working on woodblocks the press needs to be set much lighter. With a small alteration to the spring arrangement on the mangle (ie. a piece of metal pipe inserted to prevent the spring "slopping" from side to side) it has been doing a grand job. I simply count the number  of rotations, or half/quarter rotations of the screw fittings and I have got to know how many turns are needed for which plate and for which blankets, etc.

My "Little Giant" featuring metal rollers, runners and my high tech laminated hardboard bed.  

The bed: As I mentioned in my earlier post on the press I made the executive decision to forgo the use of a laminated plastic bed, or a metal bed, due the cost. Instead I decided to make do with two sheets of hardboard which we laminated together. It's still works just fine and show no signs of wear so... if it ain't broke.... On a side note, while I was on holiday down south I went to an amazing print gallery in Old Cromwell Town called OCTA. The owner has a press set up in the back of the gallery and I noticed his bed is simply a sheet of thick plywood. If it's good enough for him....

Felt underlay from an old upholstered armchair

The blankets... well, we all know how expensive they can be. So again I use what I had to hand: some old felt underlay from an old upholstered chair. It looked too good to throw away and surely I'd find a use for it. Sure enough. I use it as the first layer on top of the tissue placed over my work on the bed.

Main blanket: a foam camping mat!

And for the main blanket I use one of those foam camping mats that cost about $9. We already had one, scavenged from the side of the road no doubt. They have so many uses (except for sleeping on!) and everyone should have one in their supplies. (They make a great spatula for applying grout to mosaics and tiling.) Over time, they slowly compress if you are doing lots of prints but they bounce back and if and when it gets too squished, I'll find another.

Inking up: I use a glass plate - an old safety glass window pane. Personally I like to roll up on glass and I simply put a sheet of white paper underneath so I can see the colours clearly for mixing.

To sum up: The mangle cost $125 from a junk shop, the metal tube for the rollers and the runners cost $30. It was going to cost $500 for an engineer to put the metal tube onto the wooden rollers and lathe them but coincidentally our neighbour is a toolmaker and he did them for us out of kindness and generosity! (Bless his little cotton socks!) Metal fittings - nuts and bolts and screw thread rods, and paint cost about $50. The hardboard bed - scraps from an old bed base. Blankets: repurposed from found items. Hours of printmaking: PRICELESS.

It's wonderful having a press here at home so I can work as the mood takes me. I'm currently working on a series of woodblocks in readiness for group shows coming up in the next few months. In between other commitments I can "pop" down to the workshop and "whip" off another colour run and not worry about having to pack everything away in between sessions. I set up a paper cutting and registering table on the bench saw, I have my inking up station on my studio bench and I have a wash up area just out in the carport with a large stainless tub and wooden bench. And I ban hubby from any woodwork projects til my print run is done - dust!

Keep Calm and Press On!

Too easy to procrastinate after a fantastic family holiday hiking the Routeburn Track with our teenage sons, summer in NZ, catching up with friends and family...

So, in order to get back to the printing press after the holiday break I was inspired to have a "play" with the "Keep Calm..." idea. I had just been on holiday to the tourist playground of Queenstown and EVERYWHERE I looked there was merchandise with the "Keep Calm...." slogan with all manner of versions to suit all manner of interests ... but not a version for print makers!

So I thought I'd whip up my own...

The design is drawn onto the MDF with a sharpie marker.

The wood block is cut and ready to print.

I printed two colour and one colour (black) versions onto a whole variety of surfaces including different papers and a selection of fabrics. I experimented with different loadings of ink to achieve variations from sharp, strong colour to more weathered, textural effects. My favourite ones were the more faded, weathered look printed onto canvas or calico. These will be made into "patches" to embellish bags, clothing or personal items. 

So, for a quick, fun, spur-of-the-moment project to get me warmed up and back to work this was a great way to kick start the year. Too often we can get bogged down with worrying about the end product and therefore loose sight of the enjoyment of the process and the opportunity for learning through "play". One of my goals for the year ahead: "Enjoy the journey!"

Illustration - commemorating a recurring funny family event

Every year, on the 1st of January, we celebrate my father-in-law's birthday by going on a tramp (hike) together. In the days leading up to the tramp a decision is made, among the more "experienced" trampers of the family, as to where we will go. While the children were smaller we would choose more "tame" locations but as the years have passed and they are all now teens, we have been able to be a bit more adventurous. 

There is now, however, the consideration of aging knee joints and hip replacements so it is still a requirement to not choose anything too onerous, ie. steep! And so... every year we set off, three generation in tow, to enjoy a day together in the great outdoors. Only hitch is, every year the tramp seems to get steeper and steeper to which my father-in-law replies, sucking his teeth and shaking his head "Schhh.... I don't remember it being this steep Toni!" (I'm the one with the dodgy knees by the way.) 

Well, last year's tramp was the pinnacle of choices, for want of a better word. Two minutes into the walk we found ourselves at the top of a flight of stairs leading down, down, down as far as we could see. As we would be returning to the cars via this same route in reverse, the reaction was instant and universal. Needless to say I felt I simply HAD to record this recurring event for others to share. The scene is in fact entirely made up and yet I think (and the family concurs) that it captures the occasion to a tee! Although I was percolating ideas for some time my final inspiration for the composition came from an old favourite - the Berenstain Bears "The Bear's Picnic". 

It was a "sweet" moment presenting my father-in-law with the framed drawing on his birthday this year and watching his reaction as he slowly registered what he was looking at, then the eruption of hysterical laughter. Priceless! The family tells me I should do a whole series. There is certainly enough material there for inspiration, and no, I don't need them to "create" moments - it comes naturally with this family!

Drypoint Prints - Pohutukawa Leaves

These are prints that I created during a workshop with printmaker Alexis Neal. They were my inspiration for the print I created for the International Print Exchange. These leaves are however 235mm tall while the leaf for the IPE is only 10mm tall.

In the workshop we were learning how to combine a variety of techniques including drypoint, chine colle, colour roll-up and collographs. Initially I created another image and experimented with mixing up and layering the techniques until I had a "feel" for what was possible. I have an aversion to using a rectangular plate so I wanted to create something where the shape of the plate was an intrinsic part of the image. Drawing on my love for the pohutukawa trees that line our coast here in Auckland, NZ, (they provide me with constant inspiration in my artwork), I created this image shaping the plexi-plate with scissors and smoothing off the edges with sandpaper to remove any burrs.

The top two images were inked with one colour, a deep red-purple. The image on the left is printed with a chine colle background of bamboo paper which was cut to the shape of the plate. The right-hand image is printed with a colour roll-up of a sepia tone applied once the plate has been inked up in an intaglio manner. I finished off the print by adding some soft hand colouring to the flower and a gentle wash of colour over the stem and leaves.

The bottom two images are inked up "a la poupee" meaning that more than one colour is used in the inking process, applying a richer red ink to the flower. Both images have then had a colour roll-up applied to the plate and the right-hand image has been completed by adding some soft hand colouring to enhance the image.

A Merry Christmas to you and your kina

My kina Christmas tree that inspired my prints

One of my most precious treasures is my kina Christmas tree that I made many years ago using a selection of kina shells and a tiny dried starfish found while beach combing. It sits atop a piece of driftwood and is accompanied by some dried pohutukawa flowers and a piece of paua.

As Christmas approaches, and with my new press ready and willing, I was inspired to create a simple little drypoint that I could give as gifts and to add to my stock of prints for sale.

I used plexi-plate, cut to the arched shape, and printed it using oil-based Flint inks onto 300g hahnemuhler paper. Initially I just printed them with one colour and a cleanly wiped plate. 

I then experimented with a simple colour roll-up over the inked up plate, wiping highlights clean with a cotton bud.

 Each and every print is different due to slightly different inking and wiping. I didn't want to produce an edition of identical prints, I wanted them all to be special in their own way. This allowed me to experiment and "play" with inking and wiping techniques.

Some of the prints were left as is, straight from the press and some were handcoloured with watercolours and metallic inks.

I can't decide which version of the print I prefer the most. It's always hard to part with work when you have fallen in love with it. 

I hope it means that the recipients will love them too.

Merry Christmas 

and best wishes

for 2014!

Lubi Lids ~ Hats for Kids

As I'm contemplating new directions for my art for the coming year I thought I'd take a trip back down memory lane and create a record of something I used to get up to to fund the ever increasing kindy fees.

Being a home-sewer, through necessity as a poor student and later as a skint parent, I was always making things for my kids including their fleece beanies with appliquéd stars. I would get so many comments from people such as "You should so sell those! I'd buy one!" So, when the kindy fees went up another notch, biting into our ever-stretched household income, I decided I'd see how serious people were about their compliments. 

I didn't tell hubby what I was up to when I was found sitting on the lounge floor amongst a pile of fleece scraps. He was used to me always making stuff anyway and I thought if I told him he might pour cold-water on my hair-brained scheme. I had enough scraps to start by making an assortment of 40 beanies of various designs, colours and sizes. I figured that I didn't need to spend any money initially because I had heaps of scraps of fleece and a whole assortment of felt scraps squirrelled away from various craft projects. If people showed an interest and actually bought my beanies, then I'd buy fabric as required however, because a beanie takes such a small amount of fabric it wasn't going to need to be a big outlay. The biggest cost would be in time. And actually, having to sit still in the evenings to hand-stitch the appliquéd designs was a good way to get me to slow down a little. It's a very therapeutic past-time, as I'm sure lots of other crafty people will agree.

Initially I would take my carrier bag of hats along to coffee groups. Sales were promising and comments were always very encouraging so I thought I'd step up the action and booked a stall at the Titirangi Market for a once-a -month spot. It took a bit of effort but the whole family got involved on the day and again there was little needed outlay. I'd been given a folding pergola, we made a folding table by cutting an old door in half and hingeing it, and for windy days, we had a collection of milk bottles that we filled with water to stop the pergola blowing away.

Sales went well, earning me enough to pay for more than a few kindy sessions and a bit more besides. Over time I had repeat customers and my range grew to include adult sizes too. It was so satisfying to have such delighted, and delightful, customers. The beanie with the skull and cross bones was particularly popular with men! It was fun coming up with ideas for new designs. I also branched out a little and made a small collection of dress up hoods, some pixie hats (or Robin Hood hats depending on your point of view) and soft brimmed hats for those of us who look a little too bleak in a beanie.

Lubi-Lids kept me busy for a good couple of years and it was so much fun meeting other creative and entrepreneurial people at the markets. As my kids got older, my focus changed to new pursuits and I guess, as cheap imports were becoming more available, it was hard to keep prices competitive and to not rip myself off in the process. This was well before the internet and on-line market places were mainstream such as felt.co.nz. It was also prior to the current "Hand made" renaissance and comments like "I could get a hat at the Warehouse for cheaper than that" were quite laughable. (I priced my hats initially at $8 then rose to $12 for the simple beanies. The more complicated designs such as the Pukeko, the Gecko and the Frog with the spiraling tongue were a little more, to reflect the extra time involved but still my profits were

marginal.) I realised I needed to make a decision whether it was time to either rev up the production or to move on to other things when I was approached by a Kiwi who was visiting from the UK. She was sourcing NZ stock for a market in London and wanted to place an order of 20 hats, ready for delivery within the week, and could I give her a wholesale price?!

Yeah, nah, actually, nice compliment, sort of, but it was time to move on.

IMPressive IV - Selected Annual Print Exhibition, Nathan Homestead, Manurewa, South Auckland.

It was great to hear I had had three pieces of my printmaking work selected for the IMPressive IV Print Exhibition at Nathan Homestead. It runs from October 24th until November 17th, 2013.

The theme of this year's exhibition is Te Moana Nui a Kiwa, The Great Ocean of Kiwa (Kiwa is the ancestor and divine guardian of the far reaching ocean known universally as the Pacific.) A range of print practices are presented by a variety of artists' works that celebrate Aotearoa / New Zealand's affinity with the sea.

I gratefully acknowledge Nathan Homestead for providing the opportunity to exhibit alongside other more experienced printmakers and for the professional presentation of the exhibition. It was a treat to see my work so nicely presented.

My three works hanging in their own wee space.

"Ebb and Flow"
Woodblock on Voile

"Rockpool - Biding Time" - Drypoint
"Reveal" - Gelatine Monoprint

Wall label of works