More Found Objects (that I’ve actually been able to take back the studio!)

So I went to the big wasteland type thing next to Seabraes  yesterday because I noticed there were lots of different random objects there. I managed to collect quite a few which hopefully I can use in someway for this project. I’m quite glad I’ve actually managed to get some 3D objects I can work with into the studio rather than just having the discarded news print to work with. I plan to take some better photographs of these objects using a spotlight in the studio etc but for now here are a few I have taken as they are.

I have no idea what I will  do with these objects yet but I think using them as a source for taking pictures is a good starting point and I’m sure ideas and thoughts will spawn from this for future work using them.

Printing onto Newsprint

So I had a go at printing with my etching plate onto the newsprint I have been talking about. I had no idea whether it would actually work but I was quite surprised how well the first print turned out.

There’s still quite a bit of detail in the print which I wasn’t expecting ! This was just an experiment really to see how well printing onto newsprint would work. Next time I think I will produce a different plate with more white space so the colours and patterns of the newsprint below can show through stronger. I’m unsure as to whether I should have really made this print in the centre – however it is only a test so I’m not going to worry about it too much !

  This was originally one of my favourite pieces of discarded newsprint so I’m a bit disappointed that the print didn’t work out too well on it. It feels like I’ve wasted it in a way ! I’m unsure as to why this print didn’t work as well as the previous one. I took the same amount of ink off the plate so I suspect it may be something to do with the paper. Arthur suggested there could be some sort of solvent on the newsprint that’s blocking the ink – or it may be the the ink that’s already on the newsprint that's stopping it !  I could work into it maybe – make it a bit more bold / interesting !

Although this print didn’t work as well as the first one it has still printed with quite a bit of detail. I think it really depends how many layers of ink are originally on the newsprint before printing over it. E.g. – the second print I produced didn’t really print that well – but there are many different layers of ink on that particular piece of newsprint. It could even be acetone or something similar that's preventing the plate from printing as well as it could do. I really think this may be what it is as most of this newsprint I have acquired from the Lithography section of the print room, were newsprint is used underneath aluminium plates when they are being cleaned (with acetone). I’ll just have to watch out for this – there’s no way of really determining whether a piece has acetone on it or not….it’s just going to be one of them things ! However I plan to use the newsprint in a more creative way next time. Possibly experimenting with the technique of “chine colle” to simply collage areas of newsprint onto a piece of paper then printing. Arthur also gave me the idea of using a photograph I have taken of the “Yellow Pages Sculpture” and producing a Photo Plate to incorporate this into a print as well. I would probably print this photo plate in colour. Although the print will have colour from the discareded newsprint it will be nice to have some from a new print as well.

Where to go from here ?!

I’ve hit a point where I don’t know what to do. I need to sit down and do some serious thinking ! I do have a list of potential ideas – it’s just what to do next and how to develop I have created already ! Anyway I managed to take a few photos of the prints I produced from the Etching workshop (shown below)

Etching Plate ^

  First Print from Etching Plate^

First Print experimenting with “Soft Ground” (which allows you to transfer textures onto plate)

 

I’m really pleased with how these have turned out (For a first go at Etching anyway!).  However I’m unsure if this plate would be suitable to print over the discarded newsprint I have previously talked about ! Just because there’s not much white space left so the patterns on the news print will not be able to appear through. However it may work out quite nice so I think I’ll give it ago. I’m speaking with Pete (the printmaking technician) tomorrow to discuss how I’m going to print onto newsprint and also if there are any other techniques in etching which would relate well to my project. I think I will possibly make another plate up with more white space but I want to speak to Pete about this and wait until I’ve spoke with Arthur on Thursday also to see what he thinks.

I’ve also been working more on my sculpture made from Yellow Pages (inspired by the Paper Art I have looked at for this project). I’ve loved working on this – it’s quite repetitive but I seem to enjoy this way of working. It’s  therapeutic ! 

I don’t know whether to work on this any more or leave it as it is. I did plan on working on it until no more could be added however I’m having second thoughts !

Oooo also – I changed around my space in the studio and I feel a lot happier in it now ! I only changed by desk around but it means I have a sort of corner now which I much prefer – and I actually have a space where I can work onto things I stick up on the wall which is useful !

Much more comfortable ! OK it’s not the height of comfort but it feels a lot better than it did – I actually want to produce work there now rather than doing it back at the flat!

Etching

So on Monday I began a workshop on Etching – pretty lengthy process but the outcomes have been really nice ! Originally I was going to do some really random abstract prints (e.g. using patterns found on the floor / tables) however due to the nature of the workshop I ended up producing a drawing using one of the photo’s I took of the rusty old bike I found back at home. It is still quite abstract as it’s a close up of the wires / metal so hopefully it should work nicely with the found newsprint. The only thing that worries me is how I will print the plate onto newsprint (as the paper needs to be damp and the newsprint will probably just disintegrate in water.) Apparently you can still print onto paper without it being damp however there is no certainty of how clear the image will be – this might be quite interesting though so I think I’ll try it out. At the moment I’ve just been printing onto normal printing paper so the prints are quite plain – I need to work out how I can use them. They are pretty nice on there own however I think they could be a lot more interesting if worked into or used in some way. I’ll post some photo’s up when I get a chance to take some !

Yellow Pages !

So there was a yellow pages lying about in the flat and I’ve been looking quite a bit into paper art so I thought I could use it in some way. Below are the results. I was basically experimenting with crumpling the paper and making a sculpture from it. The idea is to use the whole of the yellow pages – or until the sculpture becomes spherical.

 

   

I really like the random patterns you get when combining the crumpled paper together. I love how organic it’s starting to look – almost like a coral and  the different colours that are brought together which I probably wouldn't normally use with one another. I shall keep on working on this until it’s either spherical or the pages run out (which I doubt they will!). I’ve really enjoyed working with paper and I think using this material for my project will provide a lot of potential for further works – especially due to the fact it’s so readily available and in terms of “found and unwanted objects” it’s always there to be salvaged !

Discarded Newsprint !

Well I finally got round to taking some pictures of some of the newsprint I have salvaged !

  

There is just something about them that is really beautiful to look at. I think it’s the randomness of the marks – no thought of how they are put together.

I had my first tutorial yesterday with Arthur which was pretty useful ! He suggested etching on top of these with other random marks. I think this could be really successful so I’m going to have a word with Pete later on today to see if I can get a sort of workshop on Etching. From what I’ve seen of other peoples etchings I think it would lend itself really well to printing on top of these newsprints.

New Project Brief (Unsure what to call it yet !)

The initial inspiration for this project has spawned from scraps of news print left by people in the printing room. There is something I find visually and aesthetically beautiful about how prints are transferred and layered on top of each another onto newsprint, as it is used again and again on the printing press.

During my last project I salvaged some of the scrap newsprint I came across and admired it for it’s accidental beauty. This has led on to me looking at more found objects / unwanted items and thinking of ways in which I could use them within my work.  There are so many objects out there which are dismissed and not looked upon with any thought, which are actually really interesting and inspiring things of beauty !

In this project I want to collect any found and unwanted objects which shout out something to me, and give them a new life in which they can be appreciated more. This may include working into objects and combining them to make new pieces of art, or simply enhancing the way in which they are displayed; giving them a chance to show off their existing visual appeal. Each object has it’s own history and story and this is something I would also like to consider when making works from them. Exploring the properties of different objects and experimenting with them shall play a part in what can be created from the objects I come across in this project.