Having a cuppa with Amanda a week or so ago, it was decided we would have a printing day - when family commitments and diaries allowed! So last Friday I lugged my newly acquired printing inks, rollers, cards and papers, and carved lino plates round to her's and after much nattering and coffee consuming we set to work. We compared the inks I had purchased with the oil-based ones Amanda uses, and I chose my turquoise initially, to which I added some cerise which made a more purply colour. Then I tried Amanda's black which was tackier to use and is actually better quality than mine - though once printing got under way my more liquid ink printed quite nicely.
The work station! Amanda is indeed a Kitchen Table crafts-person. But it all works well.
THE MANGLE!
It's quite tough turning the handle as the block goes through the wringers, but I eventually got the hang of it. It must be quite exhausting to print a long run .
The Drying Room! What an ingenious piece of kit - I need one!
We stopped for a lovely lunch of home-made cheese scones and ham rolls, and I took a cheese-cake which we FORCED ourselves to sample! Then on to more printing and nattering. (much of the latter.)
A completely gratuitous shot of some of Amanda's herbs. Love the blue of the planter at the back.
It was a lovely day, the sun shone and we printed and chatted happily until it was time for Amanda to nip off on the School Run. I'm very pleased with my results, I can't show you Amanda's as she is working on something new. Thank you so much for a brilliant day, Amanda, coffee at mine next time! And now I really am on a roll with this link-cut printing lark; hopefully will be at Sue K's having a go on our own very soon.
If any of you haven't already checked out Amanda's work here (hopefully) is the link!
http://mangleprints.blogspot.co.uk/
Next blog post about the Mollies at Welborne Arts Festival coming soon!
What a talented pair you are - I've just followed the link to Amandas website - stunning work! I love the fact that mangle printing actually uses a mangle (I know - who'd have thought!) - and that such lovely things don't need a big flashy studio with all mod cons to work. Obviously the nattering process is a big aid in any creative activity - as are frequent refreshments ;) Jane x
ReplyDeleteHo! JAne, don't even breath my name in the same paragraph! Amanda is the maestro, I have only just begun - and it shows! But we were talking about studios and upgrades and how nice it would all be, but Amanda reckons she would lose something by having a posh new printing press - even if she had somewhere to put it!
DeleteNattering and replenishing the Inner Woman are ALWAYS a great and important component to creativity!
What fun! have indeed popped over to Mangleprints and love what I found! It is always good to do crafty things with a friend isn't it and your day sounds wonderful. I love the make do and mend ethos using mangles, drying hangers and kitchen table.
ReplyDeleteAmanda has been incredibly generous with both her time and her expertise. I like to think we're fast becoming friends too. I MUST remember to hunt out one of those indoor drying thingummies!
DeleteThese look really good, I particularly like the wild trout design....guess what cards you'll be sending out this Christmas! :) x
ReplyDeleteAlas, Ada - my Other Half tells me these look NOTHING like trout, wild or otherwise; more like carp. Oh dear. Back - literally - to the drawing board. He has presented me with a ceramic trout in action from which to copy - ha! I never could draw from life, but here goes, anyway!
DeleteYou can get a clippy thing like that at IKEA in the shape of an octopus - what's not to like?
ReplyDeleteEleanor xx
Aha! Thank you, Eleanor! Such a simple but effective piece of kit! Lx
ReplyDeleteHi Lynne, what a lovely prints you made !!! (great way let them dry !)
ReplyDeleteI love the way tou did the lettering ! ;-)
(Ha, just catched up om a lot more , your forge and folke BBQ and the
lovely Open Studio trip : lots of inspiration there !)
Hi Els! Yes, it has been quite an action packed period of time for me...my diary is all scrawl and scribble; but I am enjoying myself. It happens like that at times, doesn't it? Nothing happening for ages, then it all gets quite hectic. Thanks for popping in. Lx
DeleteWhat a lovely way to spend a day, the end result looks great. I have one of those drying machines, sadly it's usually full of pants & socks!
ReplyDeleteHi Jay, yes, it was great fun, and most instructive too. I shall be purloining one of those thingummies very soon - actually now I come to think about it I should get two - our pants and socks would do better on one of them as well! Lx
DeleteLordy, is there no end to your talents? Rag rugs and now lino prints! Your curiosity and enthusiasm shines through your posts and your results do you proud. My daughter has done some of this and absolutely loves it - she said I should have a go, and indeed I must! Now, where'd I leave me old mangle.... xCathy
ReplyDeleteHiya Cathy, perhaps you should come to Sue's with me when we have our day printing! Oh but you'd have to have done your carving first. It is SO addictive! I'm in danger of purchasing a small hand-press, as I don't find the 'burnishing' method of printing very good - I wobble about a bit too much! Lx
Deleteoooh, lovely, very inspiring I want to do some printing, I like the idea of printing ex-libris labels, then I can lend books and be more sure of getting them back!. I've been acquiring printing stuff for a few months now, I have lino, cutters, rollers and a press from my book binding, I just need the ink and a day off and I'll be away! Is your ink water based, and would you recommend it for a beginner? I've had lots of conflicting advice and I can't decide what to get!
ReplyDeleteOh Nina, it would be a great adjunct to your book-binding activities!
DeleteI bought water-based inks from Jacksons (UK firm) you can see them in the blog. Amanda uses an easy wash oil-based ink, which is thicker/tackier than the one I got. Initially mine seemed very liquid, but on the second or third print it improved. . they are much cheaper, so you may like to give them a go and see how you feel. I didn't get a black - they were out of stock, so I thought I would get the oil-based black and see how I go. Amanda said they were better than she'd initially thought. (the water-based). And wow, you have a press - can you put a photo on your next blog post? I am after one as I really have problems doing the hand-burnishing. I saw a small one for about £40 in Jackson's catalo. It' isn't large of very professional but I thought for the price it would be ok to start with. I expect yours is one of those screw down ones, I've mostly seen them used for books. Golly! A whole new direction! Lx.
Now that's my kind of printing ... ooh, how I miss my Gran's old mangle ... can you believe when my Gran died my Mum threw it out before I could get to it as she couldn't imagine anyone having a use for it!
ReplyDeleteYes, Annie, I can. My mum had one - not like Amanda's, one of those heavy-duty affairs. Every Monday I heard the only 'swear'word she ever used, as she tussled with a liberty bodice that got caught in the mangle rollers. "Sod it sod it!" she would cry! Only ever on a Monday morning, never since, and never anything else. It was a monster! Lx
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