 |
| Carborundum mixture |
|
| While
browsing the internet I ran across a British website cooperative
featuring the a variety of prints. One woman in particular had fabulous
soft, 'bleedy' shapes in her images that were compelling - the opposite
of the hard lines we get with acid etching. A bit of research later I
learned that these prints included a carborundum technique.
Carborundum is very
fine grain silica that is used to polish lithographers' stones.
However, if you mix the power in an acrylic gel medium you come up with
a sandy paint. Using a regular craft brush an artist can paint an image
onto a plexiglass plate. The image must rest several days to cure and
adhere to the plexiglass. When the plate is inked up the particles of
silica hold onto the ink, shred the artist's tarlatan but print with an
interesting effect. If the mixture is applied with a thick texture this
translates to the print as an embossed area.
I
have just begun to experiment with this technique. Under 'Animals' you
will see the Great Egret print which has carborundum as the background.
Both pollen prints include this technique as well.
|
 |
| Carborundum mixture painted onto plexiglass plate |
|
|
 |
| Berries monoprint using carborundum printed over woodgrain |
|
|
|