Fine art lino printing workshop week one ;the basics

 

As part of the first week in the print workshops, we began by looking at lino printing,  and had a look at some examples that our tutor had produced. The lino printing process however, is started by making a plate, or template, which you then use to print your designs onto paper.

We were given a plate of zinc, ( Zinc because it is cheaper yet quite tough, also has a nice finish when done) and measured out three squares onto some paper, and began to draw out some initial designs. we were asked to draw linear drawings as you cannot shade into the zinc plate. I drew out some designs (displayed above), but eventually chose to do ballet shoes as my final design. (displayed below.) Before we began using the plates however, we filed down the edges of the plate using a large wide file, so they were blunt. After doing so, we were given some oil polish, to clean our plate before working into it.

After choosing my design, we went and put our zinc pieces onto a hot plate, and began to add some stop out. The stop out is quite viscose so with the aid of heat, it was then able to be spread on more smoothly.  We had to be careful not to burn our hands on the hot plate, as it got very hot. we spread the stop out on using cardboard, so it didn't stain if we had used utensils, and the cardboard could just be thrown away.

 

 

 Once it had dried, we copied our design onto tracing paper, and then transferred it onto our piece of zinc. We were then given a scribe, and etched out our design, and then added in any extra shading, using the crosshatching method. After I was content with my design we covered the back with laminate and placed it into Nitric acid for 3-5 minutes. The nitric acid burned into the etched parts, and after the time given revealed a lino stencil ready to print with next week. 3-5 minutes was a reasonable time, as it took away the zinc plate just enough, but not too much so that the grooves began to widen. The plastic is put onto the back of the place so the plate is protected, and not eaten away. We took the plates out (making sure to use gloves, so our hands don't get irritated), and used the same oil polish again to remove the stop out. we then rinsed with hot water to remove as much as possible and then with cold water to cool.