Finally I got back into the actual fun of printing. I think these templates of my violin turned out rather well. The initial prints were a bit “gloopy”. Less ink on the plate next time. Plus there is a noticeable pattern left by the brayer as I inked the ceramic plate. I’m not altogether unhappy about that texture, though it would be nice to have a nice consistent print.
The next print was a ghost print – this first was a bit fuzzy around the edges. Then I removed the template and took a print of what ink remained. This gave slight gradations of ink from both within and beyond the area covered by the template. It has also left a nice outline in darker blue.
The next stage was to use the “waste” paper from cutting the template. Using it as a stencil, I followed the same procedure as with the initial prints. This produced pleasing results. I am also much better at lining the paper up along the edge of the plate so that the print is parallel and not wonky.
These prints took 50 minutes to produce. This is worth bearing in mind for planning future studio time after work.
Maureen Walker's Introduction to Printmaking Blog 