The stone is kept wet during the printing process, water repelling the greasy ink from the non drawn areas. Ink is applied with a roller and the stone is printed manually with a specially designed press to create multiple prints of the drawn image.
An edition is usually created in a single session, and can be anything from two up to thirty or forty. Maintaining consistency through the edition is a skill best learnt through experience and gaining a sensitivity to the process.
Once the edition has been made, the stone can then be prepared for re-use through a graining process of manual stone on stone graining with different grade graining grits from course to fine to achieve a smooth drawing surface.
Embossing
Embossing works best on thick printmaking papers and can be made from a variety of surfaces and objects. The embossing in Simone’s art works are made from hand cut lino stencils.
The paper is soaked in water, blotted to remove drips, placed on top of the lino stencil and run through a press with soft blankets pushing the paper into the lino relief. Small scale embossing can also be made using a knitting needle or similar implement and gently rubbing the back of the paper into the grooves of the stencil.
Collograph
Collographs are usually made on straw board coated with shellac. They can be cut into and printed as a relief, with ink rubbed into the cut lines and printed. They can also be made by gluing down cloth or other textured materials onto the board, then surface rolled.
Using the surface roll technique, collographs are a simple and easy way to add a layer of colour or texture to a lithograph.
