Notice Understand Accept Encourage:
Words that describe a day at Designs in Mind; challenging to translate into images, but we had an interesting session trying! After much discussion in small groups exploring ideas, we then used a drypoint printing technique to produce a range of prints. Four words resulted in wildly different prints!
This workshop was a prelude in preparation for our practical workshop we are delivering at the Working Conference on Compassion in October, where we hope to inspire delegates to produce their own prints.
Drypoint printing is a process like using a pen without the ink – drawing with a drypoint – to create an impression of a drawing that when inked can be printed again and again. It’s like etching without acid, or engraving with an etching needle. Traditionally drypoint is done on copper plates with a carbon or carbide-tipped needle. We used drypoint card, card that is laminated on one side, to draw (scratch) our design on. It is then inked and cleaned, leaving ink only in the crevices. The design is then printed using a press onto heavy paper, soaked in water with the excess water blotted away. The force of the printing press then squeezes out the remaining ink and the image is transferred onto the paper – this requires pressure that cannot be applied by hand (hence the necessity of a press).