Every step of the way when attempting to complete the printed element of this module has been a struggle and huge learning process for me. The problems I have encountered are all part of learning on this course and improving my skills as a practitioner, which I know I will take on with me into the future when completing this course and on into industry.
Lino
When deciding upon lino as my printing process, i spoke with our printing technician at Blenheim to see what was possible. I first asked if it was possible for the uni to provide A2 size pieces of lino for me to cut and i was told that yes the uni can provide these for me - but that the other campus at vernon Street would be the ones who had it in stock.
Confident that this was the case, I progressed with my idea to do 3 A2 linos - creating designs at this size. Before my designs were complete I headed to vernon Street and enquired there about sourcing the A2 lino. It was then that I was told that they do not supply it and that I would have to source it myself from online stockists - of which they could not give me a name.
Determined to still go ahead with my A2 designs, I scoured the internet for A2 lino and slowly became away that this size of lino for printing was extremely difficult to come by. I managed to find some sheets at 400mm x 600mm (as close to the A2 size i wanted without having to spend an even bigger fortune on larger rolls of lino and hand cutting it to size myself) and placed an order at nearly £20 each per sheet.
The delivery of my lino took forever. The stockists made so many mistakes, sending my lino to my billing address in Cambridge instead of my deliver address in leeds whichI had clearly stated. I waited 2 weeks for my lino to be delivered, only to find the 3 sheets I had ordered were severely damaged upon arrival. The lino itself had score marks along the edges where the shops employee had cut the lino carelessly and the lino itself had large cracks which must have occurred during transit.
I could not work with the lino once it had arrived, therefore had to purchase more and wait for another delivery. By the time the second lot of lino had arrived, it was a few days before christmas and I was now extremely behind in the process of creating my lino cuts for print.
Money
The amount of money i have spent on this module has been easilty in the hundreds. From the cost of the lino itself, to the professional cutters I had been advised to buy (by both Vernon and Blenheim technicians) because the uni refused to lend out their own cutters, to the expenses of stock and large rollers etc. I hope to make some of this money back by selling my prints in the future and tell myself that the high quality tools I have purchased can be used again and again in my future practise.
2 lino plate separation
Originally my idea had been to create 2 A2 linos for each print. One for the block areas in one colour, and another for the detailed areas in another. I was aware of lino reduction and cutting into the lino for a second time once part of the design had been printed - and printing again over the top. This process was something I wanted to avoid as I knew how detailed I wanted my designs to be and could foresee the nightmare of registration in the future.
With my idea of cutting 2 linos for each design, i asked our print technician for the best way of registering the designs on the lino - making sure all the lines and areas of detail matched up. I was told that I could cut one design into the lino, then ink this up and print it directly onto the second sheet of lino to cut out the other areas of the design that I wanted. i quickly found out this was completely wrong advice. if lino 1 is cut and printed onto lino 2 - lino 2 would now be a mirror image of lino 1 and if cut and printed on top of each other - one design would appear one way and the other would appear reversed. Both linos would be mirror images of each other and create a complete mess in the final print.
This was a bit of a blow and in moving forward, I have decided to stick with one high detailed cut lino for each of my 3 designs, and create stamps/floats for a second colour (if i get around to it.)
Transferring my designs onto lino
Due to the size of my lino' and designs, i wanted a quick and accurate way of getting my designs onto the lino and so asked the uni print technician for advice on the best way to do this. I was told that if i create my designs digitally (or scan in hand drawn designs) then I can print these out using a laser printer and iron on the design. In researching into other ways, I have found that some practitioners use a 'matte medium' paste or carbon paper. In asking what would be best, i was assured that using the ironing method would work and it is the most cost effective and practical method of transfer due to the size of my designs. once my digital designs were complete, I quickly found out that this technique does not work (well not for me anyway). I printed my designs on the laser jet printer at uni and when this failed to work i contacted a family friend who is an architect who printed out my designs on their A2 laser printer also. The ironing on of my digital printed out designs did not transfer the image cleanly at all and after many attempts I was forced to use the old fashioned graphite transfer technique where I scribbled on the back of my printed out designs, then placed this on the lino and drew over the whole design. This meant that the time spent creating digital designs in the first place was a waste of my time and the graphite transfer technique was extremely time consuming. Another blow to deal with.
Health
The main issue throughout this whole module and first semester has been my health. Last year i really struggled with many serious health issues and it seems that this is repeating itself this year which has been a huge blow to my confidence, self esteem and opinions of my own ability to be on the course and pursue what I love. Serious issues in terms of my foot problems have been difficult to deal with, unable to walk for long periods of time to uni for example and needing to see a specialist which took over 2 months of waiting. Finding out i have arthritis in my toes and needing casts on them has been something entirely different to overcome and as well as this I have been so poorly, developing flu, chest infections and now bronchitis which will not budge due to the stress i am putting myself under in order to complete this module and make up for absences and falling behind on work.
My uni absence has been extremely difficult to deal with emotionally. I am not on this course to study at home and feel isolated and to poorly to attend, its the last thing I wanted when going into the second semester. I enjoy going to uni and seeing what people are up too and attending sessions and learning - its why I am on this course, therefore after this module I aim to give myself the downtime I need to get better and improve my attendance 100%.
Reflections
I honestly hope that this is the end of the struggles whilst completing this module and that I manage to make up for the time lost. I am pleased with myself for not giving in at each hurdle and for powering through with what I wanted to achieve such as my A2 linos.
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