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Three Generations- a change of pace

3/8/2014

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I haven't posted for a while, because I've been working on a mezzotint.  This is a very slow and labour-intensive method, which repays effort and time by allowing a wider tonal range than any other.
The plate was rocked with 72 passes of a coarse 45 teeth per inch rocker, which ploughs the smooth surface of a plate up when rocked from side to side, creating pits and burrs that hold ink
.
Picture65 tooth Lyons rocker
This took around 25 hours; the rocker moves in a straight line and I rotate the plate a little for each pass, so that the pits and burrs cross and mesh until there is a completely random distribution covering the whole area.  I like a clear margin between the image and plate edge, so this is masked off with card: despite this, the rocker bites through the card in places leaving marks which must be removed before printing. 
After the plate is rocked, I use scrapers and burnishers with light oil to remove and smooth the pits and burrs: the more I remove the less ink remains when the plate is wiped, so I can control how light or dark areas of an image will be.
This normally takes at least twice as long as rocking,
The image is of a Thomas Hall stockman's knife which belonged first to m
y great grandfather, then my grandad and now is mine- hence Three Generations.  As far as I can tell, this knife is at least 104 years old, and I use it regularly on the allotment: the apple blossom behind the knives is my Laxton's Superb, a variety my grandad grew, so the knife was probably used by him at some point to trim or cut the very same apples.


PictureEdges filed and beveled
I started by masking the image off to stop copper particles contaminating it.
I roughly filed and beveled the plate edges- at this point the corners are still square.


PictureEdges medium filed, corners rounded
I used a medium file to take the rougher edges and filings off, and to round the corners- which is how I learned to shape plates.  
I have also filed the underside of the edges to remove any swarf.
At this stage, I can run my finger down the edge without fear of cuts, but it still needs work to prevent it holding ink and print cleanly.


PictureEdges and corners scraped
I have used a scraper to further refine and smooth the edges.  It's starting to look something like usable now.

PictureStill loose copper
Burnishing the edges.  Even at this point there are still stray pieces of copper coming away.

PictureEdges burnished
I've finished burnishing the edges; this is now an hour and a half since I started.  The corners are yet to be done.

PictureRough corners
Corners need love too.

PictureSmoothed and polished
Shiny happy corners. 
Notice the burnishing marks at the edge of the image; this is one area where the rocker bit through the card at the start.


PictureGrubby margins
The margins are still dirty and need a final polish before inking and printing.  The image edges are taped off for obvious reasons.

After a few minutes with Brasso and elbow grease, we're ready for inking.  Time to warm up the hotplate.
Picture
Ready for action
PictureInked and wiped
Half an hour later; inked, wiped and ready to print

PictureFirst proof
The first proof: overwiped, and I have a lot of refining to do, but it's down on paper and I have a guide.  From experience, it will probably take five or more proofs before it's good enough.
Also, the plate marks and margins are pristine from filing and polishing: prior planning and preparation prevents poor performance.

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    I'm Phil, making prints from whatever pops up in my head and won't go away. 
    The image is what matters, not what I look like or other trivia.  If you really want to find any of that out, pop down to the workshop when I'm in and we'll have a chat and a brew
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