This weeks classes

Tuesday Etching 

Too tired after visiting 2 galleries.  No place to sit tho teacher did try to help.  Printed out both plates. First time wrong side up, top pics, second time correct darker lower pics.  I knew he told me to take out of acid too soon and i can see i was right as they are too feint.  One on the right disappears top left and bottom right.  He is now going to show me how to work on plates further using stop out varnish, more acid, reprinting, and so on.  I see others been working on plates for months. I dont have patience for this.  Its dirty hard work in chaotic envirnoment and i am glad only 5 weeks left.  

Left - etching done on soft ground, top too light as i put plate into press wrong way up.   Right - etching done on hard ground, not long enough in acid.

Wednesday Screenprinting

 I forgot to take pics of processes as i promised.  Will try to remember next week.

Most people used 2 screens.  i thought easier to put more on one.  But this makes it difficult when it comes to printing.  Also i used the machine alone, as teacher was busy, to develop the emulsion.  After 1st time i thought it hadnt worked so did again and eneded up with blurred double development on the left hand side which had moved.  The right hand side, the hands had stuck to screen so didnt move, thus worked ok.  Next week will try 2 screens, a water bottle, and a pattern.  

One good tip a student told me (i will take pic of this) - print first part of design on see thru acetage when you have screen locked into print board, mask tape this to the board that hold the screen.  Then you can position your material under this printed acetate, fold acetate back out of the way and then pull down screen and print next part of screen.

Right and middle - 2 prints on calico.  Managed to match up 2nd colour, red, even tho i didn't have registration marks on screen because teacher hadnt told me to do it before developing screen.
Left - several drawings that are blurred because i accidentally double developed - on calico.

Bottle design for next week - one screen (should really be 2 if want to print quickly.  Left - background colour with a river,  for bottle label.  Print this first then print bottle on top.  Registration marks can be seen as crosses top and bottom for matching these two parts.

(Will add pattern design here when i design it in photoshop hopefully this weekend.)

Thursday - frame making with lovely old Silvio.  

Half class didnt turn up, given up on the chaos I guess.  Even though less of us, he kept disappearing, helping advanced students, and doing paperwork.  So we chatted - we have agreed that we will learn one thing each week and not worry about it.  This week we planed our sawn mitred ends, and learnt to use clamps to glue frame together.  Left frames to dry.  Next week paint, stain or wax frame and maybe importantly, cut mount board.  B&Q have manual mitre saw for about £20 and electric £50 and the clamp for £12.  Getting the type of planer he uses more difficult.  He says about £150.  This helps you improve your sawed ends, slither by slither so that angle of cuts are right and fit together better.  My sawn angles, even with the mitre saw, were quite a bit out.  I am glad  I have made frame before cutting mount card as I don't have to be perfect measurement wise.

Manual mitre saw £18-22

Electric mitre saw  starting at £50

Framing clamp holds frame together while glue dries.  £12

Mitre planer - this one bigger than one we use.  I need to think and investigate on youtube etc about whether i can use normal planer perhaps in mitre box or something else as i certainly dont want anything big or expensive.

Still waiting for Amazon delivery, then more creative colour play - dying my crappy looking greying hair which I have left for far too long because too tired every time I remember to do it.  Just like plucking my tash & eyebrows and shaving nose hairs with nose shaver,  I remember it when I look in the car mirror in bright sunlight when it looks much worse than in my dull bathroom.  I now keep pluckers in bag and have been known to pluck in car, in the disabled bay, in Trafalgar Square.  The tourists think its performance art I'm sure.  Just realised its 6pm.  I could have gone to school and been back in time for delivery.