Second plate

Over today and yesterday, I've etched my new plate, done a few prints and added the wall paper background, ready to print on Tues (another bank holiday on Monday). 

I'm pleased with this plate. I did however try to make the background room (where the mum is sitting, eating the fish) more sinister using shadows. I tried to do this by wiping off less ink from this area of the plate. But there seemed to not be much of a difference in tone once I printed them. I will be able to achieve this when I aquatint though. I hope to have a finished aquatint print by the end of next week.


Derek said that the print looked quite surreal and he gave me some names to look at.

Otto Dix (seen his work before)

http://www.waggish.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/war301.jpg

Henry Fuseli

The nightmare

Balthus paintings

'Girl and Cat'

http://brendanscottcarroll.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/balthus_girl_with_cat.jpg

Bruno Schulz

'Procession'

http://www.transatlantis.net/blog/archives/bruno-schulz-2.jpg

Alfred Kubin

'The Lady on the Horse'

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_BVbcNcXrio4/TPN3ZjoBtlI/AAAAAAAAA94/wyLF_3mL1AQ/s1600/Alfred%2BKubin%2BDie%2BDame%2Bauf%2Bdem%2BPferd%2BThe%2BLady%2Bon%2Bthe%2BHorse.jpg

I love these, especially Kubin's, just because there so bloody weird/ freaky that they're interesting. Could keep posting more of Kubins, but I think I should stop myself now! (The shadowing in Kubins is also very atmospheric!)

O I finished another of Carter's books on Monday, 'The Magic Toy Shop'. (CARTER, A., 1981. The Magic Toy Shop. London: Virago Press.)

 I started it a while ago, but stopped reading for a bit because of my work load. I got to pick it up again over the long weekend though. Unfortunately, I wasn't as impressed by it as I hoped. It was based on toys and the idea of a man controlling his women within the family like he controls his puppets that he makes. In fact, his wife is 'dumb', she was a lively Irish girl, but lost the ability to speak when she married him. It's an interesting theme, and obviously I wanted to read it because, as the blurb indicated, it would relate to my project (women as puppets, control, marriage as death, bla bla blaaa). However, I have not gained any further knowledge from the book or inspiration- not that I'm awear of yet anyway. The ending was a bit of a let down also- not as exciting as i anticipated. She conquered over her master ....and yes, the story did refer to incest, true to Carter's other writing!

After mum helping me to decide, I sent the ticket back this evening :(.  Already regretting it.


I have, however, got my next design ready and have started to draw it onto my second plate (using carbon paper this time, to hopefully save some time and so I don't make a mistake and have to prepare another plate). 

(my sketches to work out the design)

(Final design, and working out where to aquatint)

Its a bit of a weird design. Its again an interior scene, so I will use the wallpaper pattern again. It shows a girl, Ashputtle, posed as a puppet (I hope to use soft ground to press thread into my plate for her strings, so this will hopefully create more of a connection with the stitched dress). A coi fish, is curled up onto Ashputtle's lap, symbolising the mother and daughter relationship as a positive one. However, a Russian doll set of two figures also sits on the decorative chair. This symbolises the opposite side to their relationship, where Ashputtle is trapped by her mother, and it refers to women as dolls.The fact that the fish is out of water also suggests there's trouble. In the background, in another room, appears another figure, the step mother. She is suggestively posed, sitting on the edge of a table, eating the remains of a fish bone, while an ignored child (which I'm going to add in) sitting on the floor reaches out to her. I wanted to display the part of the Chinese story where the step mother kills the fish. I though it would appear much more menacing if she were to eat the reincarnated mother though. The small child refers to the step sisters. They are still quite in need of their mother. They do not think for themselves and seem to trust in her to the stage where they cut their own feet off. But, according to Carter, the step mother does not really act on her daughter's best interests. She is acting on her own behalf and due to the competition in gaining a wealthy son. I have also tried to hint at the story by including my images in picture frames which appear on the walls in my image. One is of a woman with a bird's beak, whispering into another girl's ear. This symbolises the control of the mother. Another picture frame depicts a stalk stabbing itself in the chest to feed it's young. Katherine, the print technician, told me about this, it's called 'vulning'. It links to Carter's story as the dove pricks it's chest, covering Asputtle in it's blood which then turns into (provides her with a ) a red dress. I like this idea as it again seems quite menacing, an in fitting of Carter's writing. I want to have this drawn onto the new plate and ready to take into the print room on Wednesday. 

Week Summary : week 13. 18th- 24th March

• Print ticket
• Second design
• Print room; second plate, prints, adding wall paper and more prints

The print room is my home...

Still very busy! Since last post, I've been working on other final design ideas for my other plates while the print room is closed.

In my head, I have a rough idea of what my next two plates could include. I would love to be able to have a series of six final prints for the degree show (plus the stitched dress). But I am wondering whether I'll run out of time! Just takes so long to prepare the plate, ink it up and take the ink back off before printing. Also adding the wall paper and the aquatint and the stopping out takes up so much time.But I will definitely have at least four final prints, I don't want to have any less.


On Thursday, I prepared my plate for aquatinting, and was ready to start printing these new prints on Friday morning. 

(The aquatinting machine where I coat my plate with dust, letting it settle for 1 minute)

(Me, ready to go! :) )

(I then had to heat the aquatinted plate over a grill until the dust had burnt away.)

(After the plate had cooled, I could begin the stopping out process, etching the plate in acid at different times to achieve different tones)

And finally, print.

(Heres a comparison to my first print and an aquatinted print)

It's come quite a long way!

They worked out really well! For my first go on a large plate anyway. I have learnt from this print however, to not over complicate it. I need to try to limit how many tones I use (how many times I stop out the plate using varnish and then return the plate to acid to etch again.) This is because I became confused as to where to stop out next on my plate, and I lost count of how many times I etched it in the end! The wall paper pattern has actually become less visible. I believe this is because my tones gradually became too dark to show the contrast of the pattern. It doesn't ruin the print though. I need to maybe stick to four tones for my next plate to make sure the overall outcome is accurate and neat. Also to save me from a headache! 
   Oh Pete gave me one of his free tickets he had for a print exhibition in London! Its for next Tuesday to Thursday. I was really excited and keen to go, but not sure if I can now! I don't know London at all and have little common sense! So in order to actually arrive at the exhibition, I need to take my boyfriend with me. I thought I would be able to get our travel quite cheap by looking around, but it looks like its going to cost me around £65 just for travel... I can't afford this right now. What makes it worse is that, on the day that we can actually go, it will have to be cut quite short so I wont be able to stay as long as I would like to. And, like I said, I'm worrying about getting all my prints done, the print room is only open Wednesday and Thursday this week, wanted to use this time for my second plate gahhh, I'm so torn! I really want to go, if only it was at another time. I need to decide soon though because if I'm not going, I will have to send Pete the ticket back so that it's not wasted. Think he was going to go on Wednesday...so want him to get it in time...


Going back to work on my second plate design.

Shadow Catchers V&A exhibition

Finally I've found the images of the dress that Derek was telling me about a few weeks ago, it was hard to track down because I didn't have the official title of the exhibition. It looks so interesting! This would really suit the mood of my project. Hope I can still get round to doing it as well as the etchings!

Christening Robe from the series, My Ghost 1997, by Adam Fuss

In the first exhibition of its kind, the V&A presents the work of five camera-less photographers creating photographs without cameras.
The pictures are produced using basic light and scientific techniques that are used to capture the images.

As soon as I saw these images, i was reminded of a book i read two years ago,  called 'The memory keepers daughter' by Kim Edwards.

(EDWARDS, K., 2007. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Great Britain: Penguin.) I don't remember the plot of the story, but I do remember liking this image at the time. It must of made an impression on me to have thought of it now, especially over the plot.

It says on the back cover: 

'Cover photography: Dress: Liz Magic Laser

snow: Roy Metha/ Getty Images

Did a quick google search on her, but cant find any other versions of the dress. I did find an image of just the dress on its own however, at this site,

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKq3gxaMRDZ4AhsLY7zJEOwfinL_m7OZfOFuivi4BdHZn3MqLgR2dXEYK2FBQThJ1sn8NQ_pGNR1WKdQ8zwimvjga88MzUy2bojPL-ClL4EO8BuemADOCa-LusDEj6QAQ4Ptd95IGK0VK/s1600-h/BplFussDress-72.jpg

Week Summary : week 12. 11th- 17th April

(Easter holiday)

• Sketchbook work
• print room; aquatinting of plate and prints
• Pete's print exhibition ticket
• working on second plate designs

Wallpaper

Finally printed the wall paper! 'Bout time!

Again, sorry about the quality, can't scan till they're dry. They do look slightly better than this, promise. It was quite fiddly getting to this stage, and took some time. I had to cut out of the wallpaper, a template of the area where I want the paper pattern to appear.

(Putting my plate onto the hot plate to warm it up and melt the ground onto it so it can be rolled evenly.)

 I then cover this area of the plate with soft ground again, layer the cut out wall paper on the top half of the plate and put it through the press. Next I had to cover (stop out) the lower half of the plate with masking tape, so that this area doesn't etch again. For the fiddlier areas, such as the photo frame and the girls head, I stopped out with varnish. The plate then needed to be placed in the acid bath, once more, for 8 minuets to etch again and be ready for use.

 I only manage to get 3 prints completed, I was aiming for four, however the ones that I now have were successful. The paper pattern works well to create the interior of the room, the elaborate pattern suggests wealth that would be evident within the house, and wealth is partly to blame for the women's rivalry. The wall paper also assists in creating a darker tone to the distant wall. I think the overall effect is a lot neater and efficient than I expected it to be. This process has pushed my understanding of etching, considering I've not been practising etching for long, I've progressed well.