Category Archives: My prints

Printing for my own enjoyment

Completed: Monoprinted concertina book

Posted on July 3, 2020 by

Claire Brach, In Isolation, 2020, free-standing articulated concertina book, commercial & handmade paper, mixed media drawing & painting, monoprinting

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Part 3: Monoprinted vignettes

Posted on June 29, 2020 by

Finally every page printed.  32 different plants printed in isolation, each showcased in their own right.  Here is a selection. I also printed some of my book pages without the background.  The plants are so lovely on their own I … Continue reading →

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Part 2: Monoprinted vignettes

Posted on June 18, 2020 by

In part 1 I showed the waste prints from this project and explained the process of transferring plant material, mainly leaves, to paper. Each page was initially prepared by printing a textural backdrop representing the concept of different terrain.  Jack … Continue reading →

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Part 1: Monoprinted vignettes

Posted on June 13, 2020 by

When looking back over my recent online mixed media course I was struck again at how much I had enjoyed creating temporary vignettes from plant material. So over recent weeks I’ve been diligently collecting, pressing and drying plant material with … Continue reading →

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Exploring Mixed Media: 7

Posted on May 29, 2020 by

Working with nature: Plant Drying In anticipation of creating some nature monoprints I’ve continued to collect fallen flora.  Each leaf has been carefully laid out and pressed between paper, in single layers, using my Albion press and book blocks. These … Continue reading →

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Exploring Mixed Media: 6

Posted on May 20, 2020 by

Masks, Stencils & Monoprinting . . . with a bit of painting and drawing. A fairly good result.  Perhaps a little less colour in the upper background would have been better.  The buds have more orange and colour variation that … Continue reading →

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Articulated concertina: More complexity

Posted on April 7, 2020 by

In January I posted the results of my exploration into creating a double articulated concertina book.  I made two samples; one with basic stitching and the other with an attractive beaded join. Ever since completing the these I’ve been irritated … Continue reading →

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Finished and framed etching

Posted on March 27, 2020 by

At the beginning of February I posted my hand-drawn Banksia serrata and my journey to transform it into an etched print.  Today I share with you the finished piece, framed.

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Part 2: Two colour etching

Posted on March 26, 2020 by

Back at the end of January I wrote about a 2 day workshop I did with Basil Hall.  Click here to read that so you get the idea of what I was trying to achieve. Essentially I didn’t go with … Continue reading →

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Monoprinting nature

Posted on March 14, 2020 by

My previous nature monoprinting had me using inks that complemented the plant material I was using as my imagery; yellow ochre, green and light sepia.  I wondered how they would look in colours that don’t so readily reflect nature. The … Continue reading →

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Self portrait

Posted on March 12, 2020 by

And now for something completely different. Having been playing with water colour effects on paper recently I considered how they could be combined with my more usual oil-based printing techniques.  My goal was to produce a printed image on paper … Continue reading →

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Printing: new concepts

Posted on February 27, 2020 by

Intaglio lino print on 100gsm handmade recycled mountboard & orange skin paper Me, today, struggling to come to grips with a new printing idea.  Nothing like spending time with the textbooks.  No matter what you think you know there’s always … Continue reading →

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Monoprinting with nature

Posted on February 25, 2020 by

The (communal) print studio is currently concentrating on monoprinting and whilst there is some latitude to deviate from this it can become a problem with multiple people wanting the presses set at different pressures.  So with that in mind I … Continue reading →

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Etched lino: Two colour print

Posted on February 19, 2020 by

In late December I recorded my initial etched lino process and single colour prints from two of the lino plates. On my return to the studio a couple of weeks ago I intaglio inked one of the lino pieces in … Continue reading →

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Part 2: Etching with Basil Hall

Posted on February 9, 2020 by

In Part 1 of my recent course with Basil Hall I worked on 2 colour etching plates.  That 2 day workshop encouraged a small number of us to visit Basil in his studio for a further 2 days of printmaking.  … Continue reading →

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Part 1: Two colour etching workshop

Posted on January 31, 2020 by

With Basil Hall This 2 day workshop was an eye-opener for sure.  The aim was to produce 2 etched plates, with a variety of tones, to layer together to create a coloured print. No ideas for designs were suggested beforehand … Continue reading →

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Double articulation concertina book: Floral linocut

Posted on January 12, 2020 by

As I bring this project to a close I’m struck by how much I’ve learned on this journey. My first decision was to create a duplicate of every component as this was totally experimental.  What I see in my head … Continue reading →

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Floral linocut – moving along

Posted on January 7, 2020 by

After my last trials on white paper I moved to printing on coloured bases. My backgrounds were made by rolling various acrylic paints onto damp plastic sheeting and smoothing paper over the surface, thereby transferring some of the paint.  Unfortunately … Continue reading →

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Floral linocut progress

Posted on January 1, 2020 by

Having finally managed to finish cutting my piece of lino just before Christmas I’ve been itching to print it.  I have a specific idea in mind but thought I’d trial a few different colours and see how they look. First … Continue reading →

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2019 12 23 Image of the week & cutting lino

Posted on December 23, 2019 by

If you follow my blog you’ll have noticed that lately I’ve been messing around with colours and patterns on paper quite a bit.  Some of the results lend themselves to be overprinted with bold designs and I’ve been working on … Continue reading →

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Etched lino

Posted on December 21, 2019 by

I’ve seen etched lino prints, I understand the principle but I’ve not done it.  That changed last week when our print tutor introduced us to the method of ‘burning’ into the surface of lino and creating intaglio prints. I first … Continue reading →

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More painterly mark-making trials

Posted on December 19, 2019 by

A friend and I got together to continue the mark-making experimentation.  I’m building up a good resource of coloured papers for future projects.  Some may end up as book-covers, some as inner pages, some will probably be over-printed and some … Continue reading →

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Docking Station collagraph: Connectivity project

Posted on November 27, 2019 by

This week I created a new collagraph plate using an idea that has been floating around in my head for a while now. I’m a bit of a fan of science fiction and fantasy films.  I’ve always liked images of … Continue reading →

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Reduction lino print: Connectivity project

Posted on November 24, 2019 by

This term in my print class we’ve been looking at reduction lino printing.  I think it’s very clever and the effects can be stunning but it’s not particularly a technique I embrace myself.  However, by altering the idea slightly – … Continue reading →

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More Collagraphs: Connectivity project

Posted on October 16, 2019 by

I’ve revisited a few of my favourite old collagraph plates and reprinted them as part of my ongoing Connectivity project. I’ve always enjoyed jigsaws and these prints are made from a selection of small collagraph plates abutted to create that … Continue reading →

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Finished book: Aspects of Humanity

Posted on October 15, 2019 by

Having resolved my text printing issue I’ve been able to go ahead and construct my book. It ticks nearly all the boxes re construction, just a couple of tiny niggles that I’ve learned to improve for my next one in … Continue reading →

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You just have to keep trying . . .

Posted on October 12, 2019 by

. . . until you find a solution With 28 images individually printed onto handmade paper (see stage 1 here), collated and ready to be assembled into my Aspects of Humanity book I have spent a lot of time attempting … Continue reading →

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New print project: Aspects of Humanity

Posted on September 21, 2019 by

My Connectivity print project is slowly coming along but in between print days at Hazelhurst studio I’ve revisited the figure line drawings I did last year and added more to my collection.   You can see some of the lino prints … Continue reading →

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Collagraph printing: Connectivity project

Posted on September 9, 2019 by

I haven’t posted any of my prints for a while.  With a new tutor in the studio, an introduction to different ink-related mediums, and a new array of printing advice/guidance, it’s taken me a while to find my feet and … Continue reading →

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Experimental Etching with Tony Ameneiro: Prints 2

Posted on July 24, 2019 by

Print Series 2 Source material as inspiration: Striated muscle fibres of the heart.  Again, I zoomed into the detail. Drawing the design: After a brief outline drawing I scratched directly into 1mm polycarbonate sheet and .5mm PVC clear film (acetate). … Continue reading →

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Experimental Etching with Tony Ameneiro: Prints 1

Posted on July 21, 2019 by

Print series 1 Source material as inspiration: I chose this picture of bone calcification and zoomed into the detail. Drawing the design: After several small sketches I redrew my design to full size. Transferring the image: A zinc sheet was … Continue reading →

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Experimental Etching with Tony Ameneiro: Source material

Posted on July 20, 2019 by

Several days printing, in a residential retreat, with tutor Tony Ameneiro and 9 other keen printmakers was a great way to spend last week, and super stimulating. Having no idea what his take on etching was and what materials we … Continue reading →

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Monoprinting from nature: progressive printing

Posted on July 19, 2019 by

This is not something I’ve done much of in the past as I lean more towards ‘manufactured’ shapes and abstract designs but as I’ve been saving and drying some plant material it seemed like a good opportunity to put them … Continue reading →

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Connections Project – New prints & ideas

Posted on June 26, 2019 by

Continuing experimentation My last post described how I’m moving more towards connections & connectivity and away from circuitry.  In a break from the very sharp, semi-abstract patterning I’ve produced so far I created a word list to help me find … Continue reading →

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Connections & Circuits Project – First waste prints

Posted on June 16, 2019 by

I thought I would show a few of the waste prints resulting from mask preparation, colour reduction when ghost printing is required and some negative imagery.  These are the building blocks for the prints I posted in my blog yesterday. … Continue reading →

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Connections & Circuits Project – First prints

Posted on June 15, 2019 by

I’ve been very quiet on my blog while working through my first print designs.  Several things have happened over recent weeks which are pushing this project in a slightly different direction than intended. The theme of circuits and circuitry is … Continue reading →

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Design Play: Circuit Project – More grids

Posted on May 19, 2019 by

Loved the grid experiments in my last post so continued down this path this week with some great results. Sequin waste was cut to shape and placed over an inked acetate sheet.  This was run through the press and the … Continue reading →

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Design Play: Circuit Project – More backgrounds

Posted on May 16, 2019 by

More background experimentation – yep, I’m not done yet Whilst making book samples recently I’ve been mulling over my Circuit project.  I’ve tried quite a few different ideas as background bases for my connections and circuitry to sit upon but, … Continue reading →

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Natural Dyeing with Annette

Posted on April 4, 2019 by

Annette and I experimented with two different plant dye pots, mainly focusing on paper dyeing but I added some small pieces of silk noil into one pot. A large amount of rosemary leaves were stripped and added to around 10 … Continue reading →

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Collagraph prints: Other World – final print plate

Posted on March 17, 2019 by

This plate has printed with excellent definition.  If you read my last blog post you will appreciate the beauty of the marks but the boring outcome of the overall plate. For those of you learning about collagraphs this demonstrates how … Continue reading →

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Collagraph tutorial – part 2

Posted on March 16, 2019 by

I’ve now printed the final plate for my Other World series which I prepared and wrote about on March 11th and it’s come out very well, but there is a point I wish to stress about this kind of printing … Continue reading →

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Collagraph prints: Other World – initial selection

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

Very pleased with how some of my prints have been coming out.  A few more to go, and a new plate yet to print, so I have a choice of which ones I’ll use for my final selection. Like the … Continue reading →

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Design Play: Exercise 5 – Textures – Part 3

Posted on March 11, 2019 by

‘Other World’ Print Plates In my post of 16th February I created my first 3 collagraph print plates for this series + 2 masks.  Here are plates 6 & 7, the final ones for this body of work. PLATE 6 … Continue reading →

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Collagraph tutorial

Posted on March 10, 2019 by

Today I’m reviewing collagraph printing and how to get a variety of effects.  This is both for my own reminder and as a permanent record I can refer to in the future.  If it’s useful for anyone else than that … Continue reading →

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2019 02 27 Image of the week

Posted on February 27, 2019 by

Having severe computer-eye-strain has halted progress on my blogging recently.  However, I thought this trial collagraph print for my Other World project worthy of presenting as my image for this week. Other World V4

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Design Play: Exercise 5 – Textures – Part 2

Posted on February 16, 2019 by

‘Other World’ Print Plates In my post of 18th January I looked at both internal and external textures with a view to planning my Other World project print plates.  The aim is to produce several small prints to be mounted … Continue reading →

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2019 02 15 Image of the week

Posted on February 15, 2019 by

A couple of weeks ago I posted, as my image of the week, a computer generated image of my initial exploration into my theme of Other World.  The prints are slowly developing and this week I’ve chosen a ghost monoprint … Continue reading →

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2019 02 05 Image of the week

Posted on February 5, 2019 by

Nature, monoprint by Claire B

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Design Play: Exercise 3 – Final design & prints

Posted on December 30, 2018 by

The goal: To turn solid shapes into line drawings, create variations on the theme and translate these into a workable design to print. Stage 1 of this exercise started by using photos of Walking Irises in my garden.  I developed … Continue reading →

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2018 12 24 Image of the week

Posted on December 24, 2018 by

Reflection by Claire B Etched print, oil based inks, on 250gsm BFK Reeves paper, coloured with Inktense pigments. This is the best of the prints I completed in November, and today I finished it with hand-colouring.  Very happy with this … Continue reading →

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