Chris started the day with a chat recapping what we'd covered:
We spoke about engraving, and the benefits of using plastic over metal. He suggested we buy thicker plastic than we'd been using here
Proofing - the great advantage of printmaking over other art forms is the ability to proof. This allows multiple plates to be tried and monoprinting etc. so the image can be gradually built. Chris stated that this allow you to think through the medium.
Lithography - Chris stated how working directly on the plate is wonderful, he also pointed out that we hadn't really experienced the best way of working lithographically on the course due to the photo-exposure method we'd used.
Counter-proofing - Chris said this was a brilliant technique to have in our 'armoury of ideas'. It's a fantastic way of using old plates and of adding details via tissue therefore avoiding plate marks.
Next Chris asked us all to think of a printmaking artist that we found inspiring. He wanted us to think of artists who used printmaking as an art form in its own right. The list was inspiring:
Picasso
Durer
Barbara Rae
Kathe Kollwitz
Emma Stibbon (me)
Degas
Paula Rago
Rembrant
Goya
William Blake
Hockney
Hokusai
James Gillray - Chris's Favourite
We spent the rest of the day putting the techniques together. I scratched further into my engraving plate to create more dark areas, then printed the litho plate with the engraved plate and added some monoprint as well. I took ghost prints and I used tissue paper to try the counter proofing method to add more trees.
At the end of the day we all showed what we'd produced. I think I was the only person to try all the techniques. I was certainly the most playful and had produced the most prints (no surprise there!). I got so much out of this. Chris's feedback was to go for deeper marks in the engraved plate as he thought I was being slightly tentative with my mark making.
There's lots more work to do with this but I think I may have the beginnings of a rather interesting print here. It will be fascinating to see how my press handles these plates.