Collagraph workshop

The workshop season has started and this morning's was an experimental collagraph printing session. We began with a PowerPoint outlining methods and hopefully giving inspiration. I then asked everyone, after a demonstration. to make two different 10cm square collagraphs using 'Enviromount' card and one with mounting board. We used abstract designs, in a single colour  for this, so we could really focus on the tonal qualities of the prints. Cuts were made and foil added. We found, I think, that the Enviromount was easier for the less experienced to cut and peel compared to the mounting board, but the mountboard gave a greater variety of tones when peeled away. The Enviromount gives a much deeper tone when peeled away than the mounting board. Handprinted in Bognor Regis supply the Envioromount card. 

This was my piece I had prepared with the plate on the left. 

Some of our test pieces ....

We compared two kinds of tape - aluminium builders tape which you just peel off a roll - and the type of backed aluminium sheets you put behind things to reflect heat. The backed sheets were easier for cutting shapes, but complex shapes were tricky to peel away. The buiders tape was more robust and very sticky! .As always a lot of the skill lies in the inking up - and in an ideal world we would have sealed our plates - but in three hours I think we made a pretty good attempt at introducing collagraph. Both kinds of plate printed well for two or three prints. 

Having learnt the basic skills we then went onto experiment with our own ideas ..I particularly like this one of tree bark, where  the texture was made by overlapping pieces of foil ..although I still see it as a landscape!