Test prints

 After finishing my first print shown in the blog earlier 'An Ode to Dysart', I was happy with how the edition ended up with each print in the series being very close to the next. However, I was still aware that I wasn't fully comprehending the 'correct' use of watercolour on woodblock. It is my understanding, that before creative liberty can be taken, first a person must know the 'correct' use of any medium or material they plan to use and so, although I did get a run of 12 prints for a complete edition, I was determined to figure out the proper use of the media I have been solely experimenting with for a year or so now. I've been making woodblocks as much as I can since the beginning of this course, I always struggled with the 'correct' application of any of the process', (that is 'correct' in the eyes of the country that first mastered this print form, Japan) so I thought it was high time to sit down and figure this out for myself. It hasn't been easy, being an inherently Eastern and more specifically Japanese form of printmaking the avenues in the West to learn these processes are largely out of books, which although gives you the theory still does not help at all with practice.

 It was a daunting prospect one that, to begin with I worried would get the better of me as it had done with so many prints before. In order to get started I asked a friend for the use of one of his photographs to create a set of woodblocks from, for  test print.

In order to save the most amount of time possible on this one, instead of engraving the keyblock and it alone through the use of laser engravers I decided to map out all of my colour blocks with assistance from the high precision lasers too.

I did this by first of all making a drawing of the image, scanning that in and printing it off in duplicate, up to the number of blocks I thought I would need for the print and then highlighted the sections I wanted to keep as my relief areas on each block, I then traced all of the highlighted areas making sure to keep my registration marks noted on each tracing and then creating documents on photoshop that created a thin band around the marked relief areas for every block. By uploading these to the laser engraver, what I was left with was a full set of woodblocks that had perfect registration, that only required me to go over them with my carving tools to create much deeper and more pronounced canals for the pigments to settle in so as not to ruin the print.

 (I know at this stage, it might be hard to follow without visual cues but that's pretty much what I had to work with in starting out too...  also, I left the tracings and highlight sheets in manchester before going back to Glasgow for winter break)

These are the documents that are uploaded to the engravers, the white stays proud on the block and the black gets engraved. I then cut deeper around the relief areas so ink build up doesn't ruin the printing.

This was the first print I did this with, always handcutting all my blocks except the key. This goes back to me practicing and becoming efficient with the proper way and then using some creative freedom to adapt the process to something better suited to me. 

This was the outcome of the test series, I printed it on several papers and adapted the amounts of each material element throughout the printing process to get an idea of how watercolour and woodblock should be used to print.

Of course, I hated the end result. Was very disheartened and didn't have a single thing I felt good enough to sell. However, I did have a very good idea of where I was going wrong which was extremely valuable.

I discovered that levels of moisture throughout the paper and printing have to be carefully measured, too much and the colours would run after printing, too little, the paper wouldn't lift pigment of the block. I now had an idea of what was correct. I discovered the use of rice paste or 'nori', was invaluable (more on what this is later). also not to be shy with the pigments, to much and it can be diluted until right, too little and its hopeless trying to add more after water has been added. Also, I realised I had only been using my brushes as just that 'brushes' but they're not, they are highly specialised tools that have a huge range of uses in applying inks to blocks, acting like fountain pens with their own inkwells, pigment application has to be adapted as the brush becomes fuller with it... etc, etc.

I learnt loads and was ready to apply this knowledge to my next lot of prints the 'waka' series.