Creating Prints:
After creating my drawings, I wanted to explore the possibilities of making them in
to Lino and Mono Prints.
Mono Prints:
Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that has lines or images that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, which allows for multiple originals.
I tried both methods of Monoprinting - additive and subtractive.
Additive
I drew my designs directly onto the inked acrylic sheet and laid a piece of paper onto of it to pick up the design.
Subtractive
I applied my paper directly onto my inked acrylic sheet and drew out my design on the back of the piece of paper. (The pressure from the drawing left the image on my paper.)
(This is a photograph of the acrylic sheet I used to create the mono print.) I really liked this as it was a negative of a mono print or the additive method.
I don't think my Hairy Handbag print worked out as well as I wanted it to. The hair brush looked very effective and was very obvious to what it was. Whereas the handbag and hair didn't look as detailed or visible as I wanted it to. I thought it looked messy.
I really liked this image of my beaver as it's very clear and obvious to what it is. This is an image of my acrylic sheet. I felt as though it looked a lot messier on the paper, even after I'd removed the excess ink. The lines weren't as crisp as I wanted them to be.
I experimented with writing as I want to make my own Tart Cards and my own form of communication to educate people on how damaging the slang terms and euphemisms we use can be.
I did find it very difficult to write as I had to do it backwards. (Which is why some of my letters are the wrong way round.) I do like how it turned out though as it looks very unique and basic. Which is how I'd want my text to look because it's how it was printed on Tart Cards.
(Hairy Handbag, Fried Eggs, Beaver.)
These are 2 prints I made from the excess ink from the acrylic sheet I was using.
It did make my prints look messy as I didn't clean my board in between every print. Instead, I just applied more ink every time but I thought they looked really interesting as even though for every different print I was making, I was applying more ink. The design still remained underneath each other every time.
If I was to do this again, I would clean my sheet in between designs.
Comparison of a Lino Print and a Mono Print-
I tried with different types of paper too - the coloured paper I used was just slightly thicker than tissue paper so it absorbed the link a lot more than a normal piece of plain printing paper did. I thought it worked very well as the design was much more prominent and darker.
I prefer the way the Mono print looks compared to the Lino as it is much more detailed and stands out a lot more. Which is what I'd want it to do if I'm going to make them into Tart Cards. On the Lino print, the ink looks like it's not applied as evenly, creating very dark black areas of ink and others barely having any ink on.
I combined text and my designs together but still felt as though it looked too messy and didn't have as much detail as the original drawings.
Lino Prints:
I found that the Lino was a lot easier to cut when I heated it slightly with a hair dryer.
I haven't experimented much with Lino printing so didn't know much about it. I did really like how the images looked initially on the Lino.
I did find it difficult to control the
Lino tool at times but found it very helpful that it come with different sized blades. Adding smaller details on the beaver was difficult too as sometimes the lines I cut out were too thick and didn't show some of the detail.
Two of my Lino cut outs - Beaver and Fried Egg.
Fried Egg-
These were my first attempts at creating a Lino print Fried egg. I thought it looked too flat and lacked detailed. I really didn't like the effect the Lino prints made. It would have been better if I'd have cut out the surround of the egg instead of the yolk part.
Beaver-
I didn't like this image as it was very messy looking and blotchy. I felt as though a lot of the detail in the image was lost because of the ink and how messy it looked.
I did attempt to create prints from this a lot of times - changing the amount of ink I used and the way I applied pressure to it.
Overall, Lino prints are much better for creating multiple prints of the same image but I do prefer Monoprints as I have a lot more control over the design and how it's printed. (I can take the excess ink off the acrylic sheet much easier than Lino.)
The same design on different types of paper -
I created a Lino Print and compared the way it looked on different types of paper. (Using paper that was just slightly thicker than tissue paper and normal printing paper.) The coloured paper absorbed more of the ink again and left a stronger print than normal printing paper did.
Mono / Lino Prints and Stamps:
I came up with some play on words and innuendos to stamp onto my prints. I really like how the stamps look with the prints as they stand out against them very nicely. It still has a very basic, handmade look but is a lot cleaner and far less messy looking than when I'd hand written them.
Slang for genitalia is one of the most common topics throughout history. For example, the oldest slang word 'cunt' has stuck around since being first recorded in 1220.
You Will Be Begging to see my FRIED EGGS, That's No EGGaggeration.
I will have to think about the placement of the words and how I'm going to stamp them as I want them to be read easily and continuous instead of words being dotted around the image randomly.
My Hairy Handbag Cannot Be Tamed.
My breasts are EGGceptional.
My Tits are EGGcellent.
I really like this print and stamping as the words fit around the design perfectly. The way I have positioned the words also highlights the play on words I have created - EGG-cellent...
I'm just unsure as to whether I want to use words like 'tits', 'boobs' and 'breasts' as I feel it isn't as inconspicuous as I'd want it to be. Tart Cards very rarely speak about sex and their services directly. They often refer to them as something else. So by me using the slang terms people use to discuss female genitalia, it's less clear what I'm referring to.
I Have the Best DAM Beaver.
Can You Tame My Beaver
I think the play on words and innuendos I have included are very effective and create the right balance of humour as well as highlighting the offensive and demeaning slang terms used to describe women's bodies. I don't want to take away from the main aim of my project as even though the wordplay is playful and light hearted, it is a lot less fun when reduced to such misogynistic terms. The words I am using are often used by men in a trophy-like way.
WORDS MATTER. THEY DIRECT, DETERMINE, AND DEFINE THE WAY WE LOOK AT THINGS ON A CULTURAL LEVEL. EVEN OURSELVES.
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