Rose Gets Inked
Here's a look at the process of creating dry point prints (available in website gallery). First the image is scratched into a plastic plate with a fine tool. Ink is applied to the plate and wiped back using torn up phone book pages (the ink doesn't leach from these).
Lovely thick art paper is pre-soaked in a trough of water and pat dried between paper sheets just prior to printing. The plate is then placed on the printing press, paper is laid over the plate and thick felt rug goes on top...
...then a large wheel is hand-turned taking and plate and paper under a heavy roller, pressing the ink into the paper with the plate creating an embossed edge around the print...
...the felt blanket is then gently lifted off to reveal a new little life beneath. The print is then placed under some heavy books so that it dries flat - this takes a couple of days. This process is repeated to create limited edition prints. It's a heavenly process made more so because it takes place in the printing room at the Fremantle Art Centre - a unique and special place.