September meeting - Playing with print

At the next meeting on 21 September, we’ll be investigating the different materials that you can use to make printing blocks. Leah will also bring along some acrylic paints and fabric medium so that we can try printing onto paper or cloth. Depending on the materials used you can make blocks that will last for years and can be used with acrylics, screen printing inks or thickened dyes.

You will find it helpful to bring along a design source to inspire you ... a photo or an object that has strong and interesting lines. 

 

These were based on paintings by Hundertwasser and were made using sticky backed foam and offcuts of mount board.

Please bring along -

• Anything you can find that can be used to make a print block! This list is not exhaustive but ... commercial stamps and blocks, lino sheets (or the softer plastic pieces sold as safer alternatives) and lino cutters, foam sheets or thick cardboard that can be cut and mounted, old packaging such as polystyrene or foam inserts, polystyrene circles from pizzas can be drawn into with an old biro, potatoes(!), offcuts of wood and a glue gun if you have one, interesting shaped items like buttons that can be stuck to a cardboard mount, string of different thicknesses that can be wrapped round a roller or glued to card, foam rollers that you can cut a design into the surface ... Or any other ideas you have!
• Thick card or similar on which to stick combinations of 'bits'.
• Pencils, ruler, scissors and craft knife or other cutting tools, glue such as PVA or double sided sticky tape to hold things together.
• Some old newspapers if you are going to use your blocks to print on the day or a print board with a cloth cover – you get a better print if your surface is not completely hard.
• Paint brushes, rollers or sponges for applying paint. A piece of plastic or an old dinner plate to use as a palette.
• Acrylic or fabric paints – Some acrylics and fabric medium will be available if you want to print on cloth but only a limited range of colours, so if you have any please bring them.
• Plastic cups and spoons to mix acrylics / fabric binder etc.
• Paper or cloth to print on. If using cloth you will need to pin it to your print surface or bring duct tape to hold it down. As we are using acrylics you can use any type of cloth – maybe you could overprint some hand dyed fabric from a previous session? Although you can print onto cheap copy paper to test your block you generally get more interesting results by printing onto paper that is a bit heavier and has a bit of texture.
• Old clothes if you’re messy!

As normal we will have a shared lunch. We’ll also have a show and tell so please bring along anything you have been working on that you’d like to share – it doesn’t just have to be stuff done in one of our workshops.

 

Please let Leah know if you’re coming to the meeting.

I hope to see you on the 21st.