![\"Cutting](\"http:\/\/sinclairashman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/IMG_7300.png\")
<\/a>![\"Preparing](\"http:\/\/sinclairashman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/IMG_7302.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nAs shown above (right), the edges should be cut at an angle (beveled). This helps the plate to pass more easily under the press roller during printing. It also helps to avoid the edge of the board cutting through the printing paper under the heavy pressure applied\u00a0on press.<\/p>\n
Once cut, the board is coated on both sides with either French Polish (shellac) or ordinary quick-drying household varnish. These can be bought at most hardware or\u00a0DIY stores. This\u00a0is a protective coating, to seal the surface, to prevent\u00a0liquids from penetrating the fabric of the board during the remainder of the plate-making process and during printing. On the right, above, you can see how special attention is given to coating the edges of the board, where the layers have been exposed through cutting. Make sure that the underside is also coated.<\/p>\n After about 30 minutes, the varnish has dried sufficiently to allow the image to be applied to the surface. Effectively, the surface now becomes my ‘canvas’ and is where (sometimes!) the magic\u00a0happens. Although I always have an idea or image in mind before starting work on a plate, I’ve learnt to ‘go with the flow’ and allow interesting things to happen. Of course, this attitude is helped by the fact that I produce abstract imagery, where the only thought in my mind is whether I like the emerging image or not \u2013 there is no concept of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.<\/p>\n So, with my original sketch in mind, I begin working on the image (above). For this image, I’m using crackle paste to create a rough texture. Unfortunately, I don’t think it’s widely available in all art shops. I\u00a0got mine online, from Art Discount (here’s the link\u00a0http:\/\/bit.ly\/1mZXRRG<\/a>). It’s a smooth paste that’s easy to move around\u00a0with a palette knife or plastic craft tools. If a thin layer is applied, fine cracks appear in the surface as it dries naturally. Wider cracks appear if you lay the paste on really thick. However, be careful not to build up a layer more than about 2-3mm thick, as the surface may crack under the pressure of the roller during printing.\u00a0You can make these cracks wider by forcing the paste to dry faster, using a small hair dryer on a warm setting.\u00a0I continue creating my the shape and textures I want, along the length of the plate.<\/p>\n As described above, varnishes are usually employed as an overall protective layer. However, I have created many interesting and surprising images on plates by literally dripping or pouring varnish onto them. For most of these, I had\u00a0previously coated the surface with carborundum powder (I’ll show that technique in a future post). Here, I wanted the varnish to appear in a specific ‘corridor’ to represent water, with the ‘shore’ represented by the crackle paste at the borders of this area. So, I started pouring the varnish along the central area of the dried crackle paste. As I mentioned above, it’s good to be open-minded when creating images in this way \u2013 if you like what you see, that’s all that matters.<\/p>\n The image above shows a test pouring on a piece of spare board, to give me an idea of the rate of flow I might get on my plate.\u00a0Once the varnish had been poured onto my plate, it looked pretty good. However, I knew that I wanted more of a mix of textures on the borders between the varnish and the crackle paste. For this, I needed carborundum powder.<\/p>\n On the test above, you can see how the carborundum powder is shaken through a fine cloth or muslin. This removes any larger particles and results in a fine, even dust being applied to a surface. Applied whilst the varnish is still wet, the powder stuck to its surface, just where I wanted it to appear. However, what I got was a more even coating than I expected, so I decided to improvise.<\/p>\n Above: I used a plastic straw to blow the varnish around into areas that formed more interesting shapes.<\/p>\n I then remembered how, whilst working on previous plates, I had used a hair dryer on varnish causing the surface to blister. So here, I used the dryer at its hottest setting. The picture above shows how the varnish and carborundum separated into either clear, varnish-only areas, or areas with different amounts of\u00a0carborundum. The fissures or ‘tears’ in the varnish\/powder were reminiscent of veins of molten lava. Essentially, I liked what was happening, so I kept going along the image area until it looked interesting enough to stop (always difficult to know when this point is reached!).<\/p>\n I then left the plate to dry, before coating the whole plate in a last application of varnish, to make sure everything on the plate was bonded\u00a0to the surface. On this particular day it was very warm outside, so I then put the plate \u2013 along with a couple of others I worked on in that session \u2013 outside in the warm sun to finish drying. One thing to remember though \u2013 make sure that the plate has dried sufficiently before putting it outside, otherwise will be sure to use it as a landing pad.<\/p>\n Here are some close-ups and an overall view of the final, print-ready plate:<\/p>\n In part 3, I’ll describe the printing process and show the finished prints.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Find all my posts\u00a0about Art Printworks stories on Twitter at:\u00a0#artprintstories<\/a><\/strong><\/a><\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/address>\n
\n<\/a>Varnished\u00a0plates, ready to start working on the image<\/address>\n<\/a><\/p>\nApplying the crackle paste with a plastic shaping tool<\/address>\n<\/a><\/p>\nCrackle gel. The cracks appear in the drying process<\/address>\n\u00a0<\/address>\n\u00a0<\/address>\nUsing varnishes creatively<\/h5>\n
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