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Earthenware Clay fired between 1000C and 1200C. The advantages of firing to this temperature is the wide range of colours available. The clay is still absorbent and the utilitarian ware needs to be covered with a glaze. Most often earthenware is fired in an electric kiln.
Stoneware Clay fired at between 1200C and 1300C. this melts the clay to make it hard and waterproof. It can be glazed with a wide palette of colours and surface textures. Stoneware is often fired in a gas, oil, or wood kiln and can e fired in a reducing atmosphere. This type of firing influences the colour of the clay and glazes.
Salt Glazed This is a type of stoneware. It is the firing process itself that glazes the outside of the work. Once the kiln has been heated to 1280C, common rock salt is thrown into the firebox. This bursts into fumes which glazes the work. Most often, salt glaze is identified by an orange peel surface.
Soda Glazed This is a type of stoneware. Like salt glaze it is the firing that produces the colour and texture of the glaze. A solution of soda ash is squirted into the kiln at high temperatures to create fumes that glaze the work. Soda glaze is more subtle than salt and often produces different effects around each side of the work.
Porcelain This is a type of stoneware usually characterized by being white and translucent where thin.
Anagama Fired This is a type of stoneware. The colours and textures of the anagama fired work is a result of being fired in a wood fired kiln for a number of days, anywhere between 3 and 10 days. This long firing produces a lot of ash which settles on the work and at high temperatures will melt to form the glaze.
Wood Fired This is a type of stoneware and earthenware. It simply means that the work has been heated in a kiln using wood as fuel.
Terracotta This is a type of earthenware, usually characterized by having a rich, warm brown colour.
Raku Fired This is a type of earthenware. Special glazes are applied to the work which is then heated to 1000C. Once the glaze has melted the work is removed from the kiln, glowing red hot and plunged into a tin of sawdust or other burnable material. This reduces the glaze and produces special iridescent colours from some glazes. It also turns the clay black. The work is then quenched in water to preserve the colours.
Paper Kiln This is a simple method of firing using wood as fuel, but only clay slip covered paper as the walls. Structurally it resembles a teepee. Incomplete combustion of the wood produces a range of colours from black through greys and flashes of orange.
is the process of making artworks by printing, normally on paper. Prints are created from a single original surface, known technically as a matrix. Common types of matrices include: plates of metal, usually copper or zinc for engraving or etching; stone, used for lithography; blocks of wood for woodcuts, linoleum for linocuts and fabric plates for screen-printing. But there are many other kinds, discussed below. Works printed from a single plate create an edition, in modern times usually each signed and numbered to form a limited edition. Prints may also be published in book form, as artist's books. A single print could be the product of one or multiple techniques. Woodcut Woodcut, a type of relief print, is the earliest printmaking technique, and the only one traditionally used in the Far East. It was probably first developed as a means of printing patterns on cloth, and by the 5th century was used in China for printing text and images on paper. Woodcuts of images on paper developed around 1400 in Europe, and slightly later in Japan. These are the two areas where woodcut has been most extensively used purely as a process for making images without text. The artist draws a sketch either on a plank of wood, or on paper which is transferred to the wood. Traditionally the artist then handed the work to a specialist cutter, who then uses sharp tools to carve away the parts of the block that he/she does not want to receive the ink. The raised parts of the block are inked with a brayer, then a sheet of paper, perhaps slightly damp, is placed over the block. The block is then rubbed with a baren or spoon, or is run through a press. If in colour, separate blocks are used for each colour.
Engraving The process was developed in Germany in the 1430s from the engraving used by goldsmiths to decorate metalwork. Using the burin is a difficult skill to learn. Engravers use a hardened steel tool called a burin to cut the design into the surface of a metal, traditionally copper, plate. Gravers come in a variety of shapes and sizes that yield different line types. The burin produces a unique and recognizable quality of line that is characterized by its steady, deliberate appearance and clean edges. Other tools such as mezzotint rockers, roulets and burnishers are used for texturing effects. The plate is inked all over, and then the ink wiped off the surface, leaving only the ink in the engraved lines. The plate is then put through a high-pressure printing-press together with a sheet of paper (often moistened to soften it). The paper picks up the ink from the engraved lines, making a print. The process can be repeated many times; typically several hundred impressions (copies) could be printed before the plate shows much sign of wear. The work on the plate can also be added to by repeating the whole process; this creates an engraving which exists in more than one state. In the 20th century copper-plate engraving as a serious art form was revived by Josef Hecht and Stanley William Hayter (founder of the hugely influential Atelier 17 and closely associated with the revival of experimental printmaking in France and later in the USA).
Etching
Etching is part of the intaglio family (along with engraving, drypoint, mezzotint, and aquatint.) The process is believed to have been invented by Daniel Hopfer (circa 1470-1536) of Augsburg, Germany, who decorated armour in this way, and applied the method to printmaking. Etching soon came to challenge engraving as the most popular printmaking medium. Its great advantage was that, unlike engraving which requires special skill in metalworking, etching is relatively easy to learn for an artist trained in drawing.
Etching prints are generally linear and often contain fine detail and contours. Lines can vary from smooth to sketchy. An etching is opposite of a woodcut in that the raised portions of an etching remain blank while the crevices hold ink. In pure etching, a metal (usually copper, zinc or steel) plate is covered with a waxy ground. The artist then scratches off the ground with a pointed etching needle where he wants a line to appear in the finished piece, so exposing the bare metal. The plate is then dipped in a bath of acid, or has acid washed over it. The acid "bites" into the metal, where it is exposed, leaving behind lines to the plate. The remaining ground is then cleaned off the plate, and the printing process is then just the same as for engraving.
Mezzotint An intaglio variant of engraving where the plate first is roughened evenly all over; the image is then brought out by scraping smooth the surface, creating the image by working from dark to light. It is possible to create the image by only roughening the plate selectively, so working from light to dark. Mezzotint is known for the luxurious quality of its tones: first, because an evenly, finely roughened surface holds a lot of ink, allowing deep solid colours to be printed; secondly because the process of smoothing the texture with burin, burnisher and scraper allows fine gradations in tone to be developed. The mezzotint printmaking method was invented by Ludwig von Siegen (1609-1680). The process was especially widely used in England from the mid-eighteenth century, to reproduce portraits and other paintings.
Aquatint A variant of etching. Like etching, Aquatint uses the application of acid to make the marks in the metal plate. Where the etching technique uses a needle to make lines that print in black (or whatever colour ink is used), aquatint uses powdered resin which is acid resistant in the ground to create a tonal effect. The tonal variation is controlled by the level of acid exposure over large areas, and thus the image is shaped by large sections at a time. Goya used aquatint for most of his prints.
Drypoint A variant of engraving, done with a sharp point, rather than a v-shaped burin. While engraved lines are very smooth and hard-edged, drypoint scratching leaves a rough burr at the edges of each line. This burr gives drypoint prints a characteristically soft, and sometimes blurry, line quality. Because the pressure of printing quickly destroys the burr, drypoint is useful only for very small editions; as few as ten or twenty impressions. To counter this, and allow for longer print runs, electro-plating (here called steelfacing) has been used since the nineteenth century to harden the surface of a plate. The technique appears to have been invented by the Housebook Master, a south German fifteenth century artist, all of whose prints are in drypoint only. Among the most famous artists of the old master print: Albrecht Dürer produced 3 drypoints before abandoning the technique; Rembrandt used it frequently, but usually in conjunction with etching and engraving.
Lithography Lithography is a technique invented in 1798 by Alois Senefelder and based on the chemical repulsion of oil and water. A porous surface, normally limestone, is used; the image is drawn on the limestone with a greasy medium. Acid is applied, transferring the grease to the limestone, leaving the image 'burned' into the surface. Gum arabic, a water soluble substance, is then applied, sealing the surface of the stone not covered with the drawing medium. The stone is wetted, with water staying only on the surface not covered in grease-based residue of the drawing; the stone is then 'rolled up', meaning oil ink is applied with a roller covering the entire surface; since water repels the oil in the ink, the ink adheres only to the greasy parts, perfectly inking the image. A sheet of dry paper is placed on the surface, and the image is transferred to the paper by the pressure of the printing press. Lithography is known for its ability to capture fine gradations in shading and very small detail. A variant is photo-lithography, in which the image is captured by photographic processes on metal plates; printing is carried out in the same way.
Screen-printing Screen-printing (also known as "screenprinting", "silk-screening", or "serigraphy") creates bold colour using a stencil technique. Stencil printing is arguably the oldest form of graphic arts. The first time man placed his hand against a cave wall and blew ash and dried blood against it was the first time a stencil was used. Around 500 BC in Japan, artists were gluing human hair between pieces of paper to create floral stencils which were used with brushes to tamp colour. The hair was later replaced with a silk mesh (hence the name “silk screen”). Stencils were even used to print the bold red crosses on the shields and cuirasses of the crusading knights, but it wasn’t until the turn of the century when silk screen printing became industrialized and was used in the printing of fabrics and textiles throughout the western world. Then, it was only a matter of time before artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg, and Andy Warhol began experimenting with the technique for artistic means. In screen printing, the artist draws or paints an image on a piece of paper or plastic (film can also be used). The image is cut out creating a stencil (keep in mind the pieces that are cut away are the areas that will let ink through). A screen is made of a piece of fabric (originally silk) stretched over a wood frame or aluminum. The stencil is affixed to the screen. Modern technology uses direct and indirect photo emulsions which are UV sensitive. This means that the artist’s renderings on transparent film can be exactly reproduced on the nylon screen coated with light sensitive (UV) emulsion. The light sensitive emulsion fills in the entire screen, the transparent film upon which the artist has drawn is laid upon the screen and both are placed in the exposure unit. Where the light passes through the transparent film, the emulsion is exposed and hardens. Where the artist's markings on the film stop the light, the emulsion is NOT exposed and releases upon washing, creating a stencil on the screen that exactly reproduces the artist’s markings to the finest detail. The screen is then placed on top of almost any substrate, paper, glass, fabric, golf balls, etc. Ink is then placed across the top length of the screen. A squeegee (rubber blade) is used to spread the ink across the screen, over the stencil, and through the open mesh onto the paper/fabric below. The screen is lifted once the image has been transferred onto the paper/fabric, which is replaced with the next, unprinted, substrate. Colours are added layer by layer and each colour requires a separate stencil on a separate screen. The screen can be re-used after cleaning.
Digital prints Digital prints refers to editions of images created with a computer using drawings, other prints, photographs, light pen and tablet, and so on. These images can be printed to a variety of substrates including paper and cloth or plastic canvas. Accurate colour reproduction is key to distinguishing high quality from low quality digital prints. Metallics (silvers, golds) are particularly difficult to reproduce accurately because they reflect light back to digital scanners. High quality digital prints typically are reproduced with very high-resolution data files with very high-precision printers. The substrate used has an effect on the final colours and cannot be ignored when selecting a colour palette. Digital images can be printed on standard desktop-printer paper and then transferred to traditional art papers (Velin Arch or Stonehenge 200gsm, for example). One way to transfer an image is to place the printout face down upon the art paper and rub Wintergreen oil upon the back of the print, and pass it through a press. Digital prints that are stored and sold electronically are problematic when it comes to authorship of the print and the protection of pecuniary interests. Adobe Systems tried to overcome the digital edition problem with their Adobe Reader application. Electronic images are truly multiple originals as they rely upon code to produce the image and every copy is actually the writing of code upon a disk or reproduction of code. Prints produced via any other medium are copies and not truly original unless a process of manual editing of the final result or plate is applied. Sociologist Jean Baudrillard has had a large influence upon digital printmaking with theories expounded on in Simulacra and Simulation.
Foil imaging In art, foil imaging is a printmaking technique made using the Iowa Foil Printer, developed by Viginia A. Myers from the commercial foil stamping process. This uses gold leaf and foil in the printmaking process.
Colour Printmakers apply colour to their prints in many different ways. Often colour in printmaking that involves etching, screenprinting, woodcut, or linocut is applied by either using separate plates, blocks or screens or by using a reductionist approach. In multiple plate colour techniques are a number of plates, screens or blocks produced, each providing a different colour. Each separate plate, screen, or block will be inked up in a different colour and applied in a particular sequence to produce the entire picture. On average about 3 to 4 plates are produced but there are occasions where a printmaker may use up to seven plates. Every application of another plate of colour will interact with the colour already applied to the paper and this must be kept in mind when producing the separation of colours. The lightest colours are often applied first and then that darker colours successively until the last one. The reductionist approach to producing colour is to start with a lino or wood block that is either blank or with a simple etching. Upon each printing of colour the printmaker will then further cut into the lino or woodblock removing more material and then apply another colour and reprint. Each successive removal of lino or wood from the block will expose the already printed colour to the viewer of the print. With some printing techniques like chine-collé or monotyping the printmaker may sometimes just paint into the colours they want like a painter would and then print. The subtractive colour concept is also used in offset or digital print and is present in bitmap or vectorial software in CMYK or other colour spaces.
Monotyping is a type of printmaking made by drawing or painting on a smooth, non-absorbent surface. The surface, or matrix, was historically a copper etching plate, but in contemporary work it can vary from zinc or glass to acrylic glass. The image is then transferred onto a sheet of paper by pressing the two together, usually using a printing-press. Monotypes can also be created by inking an entire surface and then, using brushes or rags, removing ink to create a subtractive image, e.g. creating lights from a field of opaque colour. The inks used may be oil based or water based. With oil based inks, the paper may be dry, in which case the image has more contrast, or the paper may be damp, in which case the image has a 10 percent greater range of tones. Unlike monoprinting, monotyping produces a unique print, or monotype, because most of the ink is removed during the initial pressing. Although subsequent reprintings are sometimes possible, they differ greatly from the first print and are generally considered inferior. A second print from the original plate is called a "ghost print" or "cognate". Stencils, watercolour, solvents, brushes, and other tools are often used to embellish a monotype print. Monotypes are often spontaneously executed and with no previous sketch.
History The monotype process was invented by Giovanni Benedetto Castiglione (1609-64), an Italian painter and etcher who was also the first artist to produce brushed sketches intended as finished and final works of art (rather than as studies for another work). He is the only Italian to have invented a printmaking technique. He began to make monotypes in the 1640s, normally working from black to white, and produced over twenty surviving ones, over half of which are set at night (Theseus finding the Arms of his Father, 1643). Few other artists used the technique until Degas, who made several, often working on them further after printing (Beside the Sea, 1876-7). In the twentieth century the technique became more popular.
Comparing monotyping to monoprinting Monoprinting and monotyping are very similar. Both involve the transfer of ink from a plate to the paper, canvas, or other surface that will ultimately hold the work of art. In the case of monotyping the plate is a featureless plate. It contains no features that will impart any definition to successive prints. The most common feature would be the etched or engraved line on a metal plate. In the absence of any permanent features on the surface of the plate, all articulation of imagery is dependent on one unique inking, resulting in one unique print. Monoprints, on the other hand, are the results of plates that have permanent features on them. Monoprints can be thought of as variations on a theme, with the theme resulting from some permanent features being found on the plate -- lines, textures -- that persist from print to print. Variations are confined to those resulting from how the plate is inked prior to each print. The variations are endless, but certain permanent features on the plate will tend to persist from one print to the next.
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