More Etching !

I didn’t really think I’d get into Etching but since doing the last workshop I’m really keen on it. I was both surprised and happy with the results I achieved last time and that was without actually thinking much about what I wanted to do with the Etching plate ! After having a tutorial with Arthur I decided to produce another, but larger Etching plate. He explained how you could get some nice effects by removing hard ground with turps. I decided to prepare a plate with some ground and then experiment removing it at home. This wasn’t such a good idea as the turps I bought was not odour free and I think I nearly died ha-ha ! However I did get the plate done and from what it looked like once I had finished I was pretty happy with it. I used a piece of cloth I had in my box of textiley stuff at home to apply some turps onto the plate and then used different objects to remove parts of the ground, for example; plastic bags, hessian, cloth, scrunched up newspaper. I was unsure on exactly how this was supposed to work at first but I picked it up and I noticed how different textures could be created by using this method. So once I had removed parts of the ground I wanted I went back into the print workshops and went through the process of putting the plate in the acid / stopping areas out several times. I have took a few photo’s of what the plate turned out like after it had been in the acid and had cleaned the remaining ground off. Obviously you cannot really tell how it will print but there’s just something about the plate itself that I really like when Etching.

I knowwww you can see me taking a picture of the plate – however I couldn’t do it in any other way ha-ha. It’s the only way I could get a picture of the whole plate.  Some close ups are pictured below to try and show the textures etc. I wanted to get that rusty effect that I’ve been going on about and using found objects to remove the ground from the plate was the perfect way to get these types of different and random patterns / shapes.

 

  I’m really pleased with how the plate turned out. It’s this type of effect you can see in the close ups that I was really going for !

Stonehaven

So whilst my dad was up for a bit we went on a pretty good walk up around Glen Shee ways (unfortunately the cloud was stupidly low so we couldn’t see a thing and basically were tested on our navigational skills !) which was nice…went out to the Union on Saturday night….which was an experience….and then went on a stroll along Stonehaven beach on Sunday (my dad was pretty keen on seeing the highland fault with him having done a geology at uni etc.) But anyway there was some cool things along the beach which I thought would relate well to my project so I took some photo’s. Rust will always make me take pictures of it !

This thing was amazing ! I have no idea what it was but it is the epitome of what I find visually exciting ! Rust and random marks created through decay and weathering – beautiful ! There were parts of this object that looked as if someone had sat down and purposely painted it in that abstract way as the way in which the marks, patterns and colours were placed together was just so right !

 

   I plan to use these patterns found in rust some way in my project. I have already started thinking about recreating similar patterns on an etching plate using a random way of creating the marks (similar to the random way rust forms.) The patterns and shapes are intricate enough to be used just on their own however I think there is a lot of potential to use them as either a texture or background for some more detailed work to be displayed with.

Okay this doesn’t relate to my project that much as it’s not really a found object as such – it’s just rock ! However it is a found pattern I suppose and I’m up for letting that count just as much as a found object ! Some of the rock formations were crazy in this place. The formations in this rock face have obviously been caused by water – and again that random abstract effect that weathering causes is just so visually amazing to look at !

The colours on this log were crazy ! The orange colour was so bright – I’m unsure what had caused the colour on this log but it looks like some sort of rust staining ? But again, just the colours and the patterns found on it I found really nice !

More Found Object Photo’s

So I decided to take some more photographs but this time I brought a desk lamp into the studio so I could play around with lighting. I really enjoyed taking photographs in this way again. The fact that you have control of the set up – allowing you to create interesting compositions and control over the lighting is something which I have missed ! 

   

   

        

I plan to use these as just pictures to work from however I would like to use them in some other way as well. I really liked the shadows that were cast from the objects so maybe this could be another thing I could experiment with. It brought Cornelia Parker’s work to mind (pictured below)

I love this piece of work. I think there is a lot of potential for using objects I have found in a similar way to Parker. I first learnt about this piece in a history and theory lecture back on Foundation – If a remember correctly Parker blew up a shed and then hung all the pieces together in a gallery space. The shadows are an integral part of this work and I think they have just as much (if not more) importance to the piece than the shed parts. This brings back one of the ideas I had of dismantling objects and then putting them back together in a more interesting and visually exciting way.

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!