So what is a collagraph, anyway?

Well I'm pleased you asked...

In my last couple of letters I’ve been telling you about the rather marvellous Festival of Print which is taking place RIGHT NOW in York. After a fabulous opening weekend in which 23 printmakers showed their work, we are moving on to the main Festival in which four smaller groups will take over the pop-up shop for two weekends at a time, allowing us to show more of our own work and also giving more space for demonstrations, workshops and generally explaining stuff.

I am one of the first group and our time in the shop kicks off TOMORROW, 30th May. We’ll be there until Sunday 8th June. Although my work is, as you probably know, almost exclusively reduction linoprint these days, I’m including some of my older¹ work in this show (well I’ve got a sixth of the shop to fill, and there are two rooms) and there are collagraphs and a stray woodcut among the pieces I have hung and also put unframed in a browser. When we were setting up we realised that all of us showing this week have some connection with collagraph, either currently using it as our main printmaking method or, like me, at least knowing our way round a collagraph block. So we’ve decided to place the focus of our group’s tenure on helping people to discover collagraph. (We will of course be happy to explain other methods too. It can be quite hard to get a printmaker to shut up when you ask us a technical question because we all get very nerdy and enthusiastic about the process).

Pulling a collagraph print

It would be great to see you there. All info is further down, but if you can’t make it to York and want to find out more about collagraph², or printmaking in general, then I’ve got a brief guide on my website, and also a glossary of printmaking jargon.

FESTIVAL OF PRINT

22 High Petergate
York
YO1 7EH

Fridays and Saturdays 10am - 5pm
Sundays 10am - 4pm

Just round the corner from York Minster and on the way to the York Art Gallery.

Here are the schedules of demonstrations and workshops. To find out more visit the York Printmakers website.

At some point I am hoping I will get a chance to do some actual printmaking, which is something that has been absent while getting ready first for Printfest and now this Festival of Print. With any luck I’ll have something to show you the next time I write.

All the best

Jane

Please note the online shop is currently open only for browsing; it will reopen for orders on 9th June.

1. Apparently you’re meant to say ‘earlier’, not ‘older’. It sounds better.

2. Very briefly, collagraph combines both relief and intaglio techniques. Blocks are created by building up collaged layers and using different textures. Ink can be applied using a variety of tools to create different marks before passing the block and dampened paper through an etching press. As well as the coloured image, the imprint of the block itself will be embossed into the paper. Collagraph is known for its depth, painterly quality, and experimental possibilities.