Bookplates

Its been quite a while since we last posted here, partly because the main project we were working on (an engraving for a bookplate) had to be kept secret until this weekend as it was a surprise wedding present! And partly because its spring and we've been out frolicking.

The design for the bookplate was engraved on 'new' formula resingrave which is meant to be less prone to chipping than the old one, though we weren't sure it was that noticeable a difference... The lettering was a new challenge and required lots of painstaking drawing of guidelines and double-checking in a mirror to make sure nothing had gone too awry.

The picture at the top is a view of the cathedral across the rooftops of Ely, and those of you who know it might spot that the tower and the lantern have been squashed together to make them fit in the space! This was the biggest edition we've ever tackled in one go, 50 copies in total, all on Zerkall paper.




















We're currently planning our contributions to the Periodic Table of Elements printmaking project, which aims to recreate the entire periodic table using a unique 6x6in print to represent each element. Loads of printmakers are involved and it'll be intriguing to see how it develops! We've been allocated selenium (Jon) and Neodymium (Sarah) and, armed with a few scraps of information courtesy of Google, we're already thrashing out some design ideas. As usual, watch this space!

Currently listening to: Gruff Rhys, Candylion, after seeing his wonderfully mad live show at the Arts Centre last week.

Friday night printing

Managed to finish off the house print this week after several trial printings and inking mishaps. The resingrave didn't take kindly to having large areas cleared away, but two evenings with the square scorper sorted it out. Looking forward to moving on to some maple blocks for the next engravings. Anyway, here's the final version of the print (now in black rather than green!). Speedball ink on Windsor and Newton 220gsm Smooth paper.



Currently listening to: Seu George, The Life Aquatic Sessions

Christmas time, resingrave and wine...

Merry Christmas! A busy one for us, flitting between Devon and Norfolk and Cambridgeshire. Much fun and good cheer had by all, though we never did get those rollerskates... We ventured out to Wicken Fen on Boxing Day for a tramp around in the mud which provided much food for thought. Watch this space for fen related prints.

Back in Norwich now to enjoy a few last nights sat by the tree before it gets sawn up and thrown on the fire. New additions to the house include a pristine 1950s Singer sewing machine that's sure to be pressed into service soon, a Nikon EM to add to the camera arsenal and our first piece of boxwood courtesy of the incredibly fine craftsmanship of Chris Daunt.

It'll be a while before we're brave enough to make a mark on the boxwood, so in the meantime we'll stick with Resingrave. Our first bit of Resingrave has been put to good use, it was interesting to work with, holds fine lines quite well, though does chip if you attack it too vigorously with the large scorpers. The house design I chose was for a present and is coming along nicely. We pulled some test prints on Christmas Eve, using a mixture of Speedball acrylic inks as we'd run out of black, save for some thick oil based stuff which wouldn't have dried until somewhere next February.


Currently listening to: Low, Christmas