Anne Desmet - workshop images

I had the privilege of attending the Anne Desmet wood engraving workshop ( held in the print room on the 10th October 09 ) - here are just a few photos of the event.

A very inspiring day !

Anne demonstrating various mark making techniques.

An example of the incredible detail and beautifully worked engraving that Anne achieves

Many samples where shown of creative and alternative approaches to imagery.

Don't miss Anne's exhibition at the Cornerstone Gallery - on view until the 20th November.

Check out the exhibition details here on www.artinliverpool.com

and view more of Anne's amazing work on her website http://www.annedesmet.com/

Posted by Ruth Ball

Liz Miller - Print Partner Report

Print Partnership Scheme
4th – 14th August 2009

I grew up on the Wirral just over the Mersey River from Liverpool, so it was a pleasure to come back to this great city after 7 years working and studying in the field of printmaking in Edinburgh and London.

Having come from using the nitric acid system of etching, I wanted to use my time at the Bluecoat to experiment with the ‘safe’ etching system using copper sulphate.

Experiment One: Hard Resist
The Lascaux hard resist was one of the most difficult mediums to adapt to. I found that the etching needle could not easily glide through the hardened resistant layer and a puckered, broken line would result due to the pressure that was needed in order to make the marks. However, these scratchy marks could be used to create interesting textures.

Experiment Two: Hard Resist and Block Ink
By mixing one part hard resist to six parts block printing ink, the toughness of the resistant layer was measurably decreased. This made the lines smooth and delicate. Yet, when these lines were etched in the Copper Sulphate, because the resist wasn’t very strong, a fair amount of foul biting occurred. This could also be used to advantageous results, as the textures of foul biting are often quite interesting.

Experiment Three: Soft Resist
Soft-edged lines could be achieved by using the 1:6 mix of hard resist and block printing ink, by drawing onto the plate through a piece of tracing or tissue paper, before the medium had fully dried. As soft lines take far shorter time to etch in the copper sulphate, little or no foul biting occurred.

Experiment Four: Aquatint
This ‘safe’ system of aquatint, used to create areas tone on etching plates, worked very well. I was really pleased with the results

My time at the Bluecoat print studio was most valuable, not only to understand and experiment with the ‘safe’ etching process, but also to continue my investigation into map making. In this mini project I developed studies of musical graphic score for traditional Brazilian music.

To see more of my work please visit my blog: http://www.lizmillerblog.blogspot.com/

Just for fun, for anyone considering the Revamp your wardrobe Sunday 15th session: Here's my son's drawing applied to 30 party invitations and a t-shirt. click on my site to see more examples.

Jane Spencer

Invitation to a skills share next Thursday afternoon

Emma Kelly, Hot Bed Press member is offering to share her knowledge of carborundum based platemaking (a method of collograph at the Bluecoat, in the Print Studio on Thursday afternoon next week. This free training opportunity will run from 2 - 5pm. To book your free place email Hannah Fray at this address hannah_fray@hotmail.com. Workshop places are limited to 6.

Carborundum is dark and expressive. Plates are usually inked intaglio style. Colourful prints can be made. Some materials and inks will be provided but please bring your own printing paper. Fabriano Rosapina for example.

For examples of prints made using this method google Peter Wray.

Christine Toh will be exhibiting at the Liverpool Design Festival
Friday 30 October- Sunday 1 November
Liverpool Metropolitan cathedral Crypt, entrance on Brownlow Hill, L3 5UB

www.liverpooldesignfestival.com
www.liverpooldesignfestival.com/exhibitors/christine-toh
www.christinetoh.co.uk

Christine Toh
Artist/ Textile Artist

Aquatint research project.

In September 2009 Emma Gregory and Tracy Hill (Griffin) began a very exciting research project to test the acrylic aquatint products currently on the market.
After continual battles with the new products available we decided to try to establish which products would be best suited to our print studios in Liverpool and Preston.
We have been funded by CADG at UCLAN to undertake the testing of the following products:

Lascaux aquatint solution
Hunt speedball screenfiller
Sandpaper onto BIG hard ground
badger aquatint solution
Lascaux tusche wash/spray
Lascaux screen filler
Edinburgh print mix
Bluecoat mix

However we are aware that like Emma and Myself many printmakers have already been working with these acrylic aquatints and have created recipes for themselves. We are very keen to include these in our tests and we have put a request out via emails to printmaking studios for recipes and advice concerning the use of aquatints.

We are currently in the middle of testing and will be documenting fully the results and findings of our testing.

If you have anything you would like to contribute or know of any artists who might be interested in the project please do not hesitate to contact either Emma or Tracy.
All contributors will be credited in the project and it is our intention to share the results with printmakers worldwide.
The results will be published on a web page:
a link to this page will be available soon.

Don't miss...

Guys, be sure to visit Anne Desmet's show at the Cornerstone Gallery (details)and the Goya and 'American Scene' print shows in Manchester this month and next. They're all inspirational.

Here's a link for Anne Desmet's show http://www.artinliverpool.com/index.php/maingalleries/cornerstone. Very playful, all underpinned with technical brilliance viz wood engraving and relief printmaking in general. Wood engravings on razor shells, woven prints.. prints layered in and under glass. On tiles...

Also, please book now for next week's talk: This Island. Daphne Warburg Astor and Jason Hicklin talk about their etchings and collaborations in Ireland and back in the studio. It's in the Garden Room at the Bluecoat on Saturday 17 October at 3.30pm. Tickets are £3/£2. Tel 0151 709 5297. Afterwards those that want to are invited to drift down to Editions Ltd. on Cook Street to view the work and raise a glass to the artists. Charming Pete Clarke hosts the talk.

Pete is also currently exhibiting prints and paintings in Liverpool - at the Victoria Gallery. For more details here's a link http://www.peteclarke.org.uk/projects_oct2009.htm. Pete is Head of Fine Art in Preston but he lives in Liverpool. Also key protagonist with Eight Days a Week exchange project.

Message left by Emma on Friday 9 October

Screen Exposure and Print Skill Share 11th Oct

Hi, I will be running an all day screen print session on Sunday 11th October, starting at 10am. This includes making positives and colour separations, screen exposure and then printing your images. The workshop is open to all and is free, however places are limited and only three places are remaining. please get in touch via e-mail to rhondanacondada@postmaster.co.uk to book a place.

IMPACT 6 and Dan Welden workshop at the Bluecoat

Fantastic week with Dan Welden in Liverpool and down in Bristol for the IMPACT conference. Highlights were Dan's passion for all things print, the uv exposure unit we made from a face tanning unit and a sheep feed bucket which worked an absolute treat (as Dan said it would), SNAP gallery and workshop and the exhibitions at Spike Island, Royal West of England Academy and UWE's Bower Ashton site (which included the lovely Wong Gean Ho's wall of silkscreen prints). Was similarly wow'ed by Alfons Bytautas' demo using Cupric Chloride as a mordant and Andrew Baldwin's demo showing the BIG resist he has developed. (See Printmaking Today for more info on both of these). Here are some images. Message left by Emma Gregory.

Skills Share Project: book arts demo

Here are some pictures of the book arts demo I ran a few weeks ago.

 It was one of the first sessions of the new Skills Share Project and it was held in the Bluecoat print studio. Everyone made two books, one was a pamphlet and the other was a concertina. Everyone did a great job and made some beautiful books.

above: Kathryn cutting paper and other necessary materials scattered (remember: it's called a 'bone folder' because it's made of bone and you use it to fold!).

above: two books by Louise Morgan. Yes, that's a South Pacific record cover she made into a book!

message by Mary Lundquist

Off on 'a jolly'...

Dan Welden arrives in Manchester tonight for his weekend of Solarplate workshops over at Hot Bed. I'll be picking him up, exhausted no doubt, on Sunday night to do the same again at the Bluecoat on Monday and Tuesday and then we're both off down to Bristol for the IMPACT conference, an international event on all things print related. Check it out - IMPACT. Feeling fantastically lucky to be going.. Message left by Emma.

Date for your Diaries in September

True Stories - an exhibition by Phillip Marsden opens on Monday 14 September at The Riverside Gallery in the Old Town Hall, Whittaker Ave, Richmond, TW9 1TP. Expect cartoons, comic strips, drop-in activities: part of COMIC London International Comics Festival. For more info refer to Phil's website, the address is on this site... somewhere.

Brenda Hartill RE - don't forget Brenda's exhibition opens this weekend at Editions Ltd. on Cook Street, Liverpool. Although her visit had to be cancelled the prints have arrived and Olwen will be hanging them on Saturday (12th September). Fine collagraphs, lots of layers, lots of colour, very expressive abstract (mainly) works. For more info check out the gallery's website: www.editionsltd.co.uk.

Open Studios - as part of the North Wales Open Studios Art Train (Helfa Gelf Art Trail) artist printmaker Ruth Thomas will be opening her print studio from 11am - 5pm Friday 11th - Sunday 13th September, Friday 18th - Sunday 20th September and Friday 25th - Sunday 27th September. For more info look at www.ruththomas.net. Her studio is in Mold, North Wales, but many Liverpool artists know Ruth Thomas from the days when she was based here. Busy, busy, busy, Ruth is also running a weekend course on collagraphs at Hot Bed Press in Salford on 17th and 18th October. Further details on this can be found on the Hot Bed site, again the address is somewhere on this page...

Revamp your wardrobe-pictures

15 November 10 -4

in the Makin room.

Rhonda and Jane.

Brenda Harthill Cancellation

Due to unforeseen circumstances Brenda's talk at the Bluecoat scheduled for 12 September has been cancelled. Her exhibition at Editions Ltd. is still going ahead. See Editions Ltd. website for details.

Mary Lundquist - Book Art Demo

Tuesday August 25th and Wednesday 26th, from 10-1pm.

Mary Lundquist will be doing a book arts basic demo for the skills share project.
The time will be spent constructing basic folded books, sewing pamphlets and making a hard back book.

It is free and open to anyone, though there are only 6 spaces for each day.
People should bring their own paper, though glue and cutting materials are provided.

Exhibition - The Magnificent 7 @ Editions !

Please click on the image to view information >



For directions and more information please visit EDITIONS GALLERY

Invitation to free demo on Monday

Monday 20 July in the Print Studio at the Bluecoat at 10am

Free 2 block lino demonstration showing how to print key block onto second block for cutting and how to register second block with first at printing stage using the KENTO method.

EXHIBITIONS

One Hundred Views of MITATE

Artist/Printmaker : NANA SHIOMI

Dates : 16 - 13 June 2009

EDITIONS Ltd, 16 Cook Street, Liverpool

Exhibition Statement:
One of the many differences that I find interesting between the West and Orient, is the view of the universe itself. In the West, the universe is seen in a vertical configuration, with human beings in the centre, God above, and animals below, and with plants lower still. However, in the Japanese viewpoint, humans animals, insects, plants, minerals, the elements, wind and rain, the moon and other planets are juxtaposed, so that the whole world, including the self, are equality, there is a ready feeling of empathy and a natural feeling of oneness with the rest of the universe.

For the MITATE series, I selected 100 elements that I consider profoundly relevant to Japanese culture. All the elements are juxtaposed equally. Each of there selected elements is closely intertwined with the lives of the Japanese people, referred to from antiquity in songs, stories, poems and dances, drawn on paper, made into pastry, used as decorations and as patterns on kimono fabric.

MITATE refers to a process of thought that Japanese culture has enjoyed since ancient times, a form of analogy comparing one thing to another. The white sand and rock formations in a Japanese garden, for example, are in reality nothing more than sand and rocks, but enjoying the free association the viewer can see in them such images as “island in the sea”, or “the universe and the self” or so on. Objects become more than single elements when repositioned in their total context, and their relationships can then be seen in a new light. In the MITATE series, my objective is to have the viewer choose any of the 100 elements that take their fancy and give them new meaning by creating their own combinations and associations. This viewer selection then, will give new life to and take on new meanings for the worn-out and antiquated symbols of Japanese culture.


DRAWN
Opening 21 May 2009
The Old Barber Shop at the Bluecoat, Liverpool



Contact Emma Gregory for information

Gum Arabic Transfer - full colour separation

Tutor : Justin Sanders

Date : Saturday 18th & Sunday 19th July 2009

Time : 10am - 4pm each day.

Cost : £120 / £100

Venue : Bluecoat Print Room

Level: suitable for those with some experience.

DESCRIPTION
Justin returns to the Print Studio to slpit a full colour image into separate colour layers and print each layer by hand using his gum arabic transfer technique. This is an ambitions weekend and participants can expect to take home an editioned full colour print with the surface and tonal qualities of a lithograph.
Justin Sanders teaches regularly at Hot Bed Press in Salford and other print studios UK wide.

Introduction to Artists Books

Tutor : Michelle Rowley

Saturday : 27th June 2009

Time : 10am - 4pm

Cost : £50 / £60

Venue : Bluecoat Print Room

Level : suitable for beginners

DESCRIPTION
This course is an introduction to creating artist books.
There will be tonnes of sample artist books to examine - folded and sewn.
You will look at how materials and form relate to content and then take a chance to have a go at stab stitch and create your own hardback cover.

You must bring in prints or collages and drawings to recycle.

Michelle leads book art projects at the Wirral Metropolitan College and Wrexham Regional Print Center. She is a founder member of Hot Bed and has a book of her own in the Tate Collection.

Contact : The Bluecoat | Tickets and Information - 0151 702 5324

Bluecoat Print Partner Scheme

Are you a local artist with an idea for a print based research project or body of work? Then you might want to consider becoming a Print Partner at the Bluecoat.

As a Print Partner you will receive advice and support on your project proposal, help with your fundraising and the offer of time in the Studio as income in kind, on condition that you are able to raise some funding towards your project. Sounds interesting? Call the Print Studio Manager on 07708 024 528 for a chat.

Bluecoat Studio Hire

With a forty year history of printmaking on site, the Bluecoat has reopened its Print Studio to the public. The Studio is clean, safe, light and airy, and current working practice is geared towards new developments in ‘safe’ printmaking.

Equipment and materials on site include:

One large etching press (Hughes and Kimber, bed 66 x 135cm)

One small table top press (bed 28 x 55cm)

A hot plate and oil based intaglio proofing ink

A range of mordants, grounds and strippers

Acrylic aquatint spray booth (you need your own spray gun)

Home-built UV exposure unit for plates and screens of up to A3

Recent additions to the equipment in the Print Studio include a sheet metal guillotine (foot treadle operated) for cutting your plates and a small nipping or pinch press for relief printmaking.

Sessions are timetabled daily from 10.00am – 1.30pm and 2.00 – 5.30pm and 6.00 – 9.30pm (no evening session on Mondays) with the exception of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.

The cost of a session is £30. To book a session or sessions please visit Tickets and Information at the Bluecoat in person or call 0151 702 5324. You will be asked for payment when you book.

Hire the studio on your own to print an edition, or work in a group of up to 6 to swap ideas and techniques.

The only restrictions are that you must be over 18 years old, you will need to have received a free Health and Safety Induction. You will also need to have some relevant printmaking experience due to the fact that the hire sessions are not staffed.

To book a Health and Safety Induction ring the Print Studio Manager directly on 07708 024 528. The Induction is free and lasts approximately 40 mins.

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With an emphasis on "safe" printmaking, we are keen to build a community of printmakers who can share skills and research.



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