Collograph

I just wanted to post a couple of images of the collograph I recently made in my printmaking class and explain the process a little bit. A collograph is basically a sheet of cardboard, or some other hard surface, with textured objects glued to it. You put ink on this textured cardboard, run it through the press, and see what comes out onto your paper.

For my collograph, I used masking tape, newspaper, a flower petal, some bark, some gel medium, styrofoam, and carborundum grit. I glued all of these things to the board and then coated it in polyurethane. Once dry, I rolled a layer of ink onto the board. Here's an image of my inked plate. You can see that the ink is only on the ridges - this is what will create the unique look of a collograph.

To print the image, I soaked my paper for about 10-20 minutes, blotted the paper, and then ran the inked board and the paper through the press. Since this process is experimental, I wasn't sure what to expect my end result to be. Overall, I really like the outcome. I think it has great negative a positive spaces, and interesting texture.