Printing the Solar Plate

Today I printed the Pool of Tears solar plate. I've photographed the process, so you can see how the print is made. First I assembled Hanhemuhle paper, Akua Intaglio Carbon Black ink, my solar plate and an old phone book for wiping the plate.

Next I dampened my paper and placed it between two cotton blotters. This opens up the dried paper fibers so they can accept ink. I always think of the fibers like little macaroni tubes. When they are plump, and then blotted, they are nice big hollows. The press then can push a lot if ink inside when the impression is made.

Now I ink the plate. I rub Akua ink into all the washed out areas of the solar plate matrix with my fingers. These areas are all below the surface of the matrix.

Now the surface of the plate is wiped clean. With Akua inks this is best done with some old phone book pages. I tell my students to remember how Mr Miyagi taught the Karate kid to wax the car--make circles across the surface of the plate.

Here is the inked plate ready to print on the press bed.

Next I position the plate on the registration grid and place the damp Hanhemuhle paper on top of it.

Now the press blankets are lowered on top of the paper. The pressure screws are adjusted. Finally, I can crank the press bed through the rollers. The top and bottom rollers give everything between them--plate and paper-- a good squeeze to transfer ink from plate to paper.

Here is the result--the impression hot off the press, so to speak.

These last images are the final print hanging on the drying wall and a close up of the image.

This print is for sale in my Etsy store if you want a copy. I decided to make a limited edition of 20. The images measures 4" x 6" on an 8" x 10" sheet. The price is $20.00 per print.
Jan

Making a solar plate

Here are the steps I use to create a solar plate. I will use this plate in a new print series I am working on for my upcoming show.

The first step is to prepare a drawing. I used pencil to create this sketch of a scene in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland--the pool of tears. I drew the Dodo, a duck, a lory and an eaglet.

The next step is to translate the drawing to a black and white image on a transparency. The transparency will be used to expose the light sensitive solar plate. I drew with a Sharpie fine point and scratched into the ink with an Xacto.

Now I get the exposure frame ready. The frame keeps the transparency immobile while the plate is exposed, and insures contact between the plate and the image  (If the transparency is not in full contact with the plate, the exposed image will be blurry.) Here are the various parts--1/8 inch glass, foam rubber, 1/2 inch plywood, and 4 clamps.

Next, I unwrapped the solar plate  (In the picture above it is wrapped in black plastic to protect it from light) and positioned it on the foam--the orange side of the plate faces up (the plywood board is under the foam.) The transparency goes on top of the plate and the glass is placed on top of everything. I clamped the exposure frame together. I try to do this efficiently so that the time from unwrapping the plate to walking outside to make the exposure is under a minute.

Here is the exposure unit outside. I am making a 90 second exposure for this plate. The time was 12 noon on a partly sunny day.

The last step is washing out the plate. I have placed the plate under a stream of lukewarm water and will gently rub it all over with my fingertips for about 5 minutes. This washed away the soft emulsion left under the ink drawing on the transparency. Exposure to the sun has hardened the rest of the plate.

During the next step--inking and printing-- I will push ink into the washed out areas and wipe the surface of the plate clean. When the plate is cranked though the press with a sheet of print paper on top, the ink in the washed out areas will be transferred to the paper. This process is called intaglio.

I will post photos of the inking and printing next. Probably over the weekend.
Jan

Who else belongs in Alice's pool of tears?

I am trying to decide what other creatures belong in the pool of tears. I need suggestions.
Aurthur Rackham included a stork, a mouse, a crab, a raven, an otter and several unidentified birds. Kiki Smith drew a swan a mallard, a monkey, an owl, many birds and a couple of hard to identify critters--a sort of mousey thing, a hariy ape? and a pointy nosed fox-like animal. Take a look at the original illustration from Lewis Carroll's book. Just Alice and the mouse.

Here is the passage from Carroll.
"It was high time to go, for the pool was getting quite crowded with the birds and animals that had fallen into it: there was a Duck and a Dodo, a Lory and an Eaglet, and several other curious creatures."
Let me know what you would include?
Thanks,
Jan