Collagraph Printmaking

For this unit we had to do a variety of different things to create our final results. I decided to base my print off a cactus I have in my room and a picture of a succulent that I found online. I chose these because they were very detailed and I thought they would look neat when I made my prints. This project relates to my life because sometimes I get ahead of myself and try to do things without guidance and that is where things can start to go on. This project also taught me to be patient because it took a long time to make my printing plate.

To create these projects I used Diamond Dotz, modge podge, pencil, a paintbrush transfer paper, scissors, cardboard, acrylic paint, crayola crayons, a sharpie, water, and 9x11 inch pieces of computer paper.

To create my printing plate I used a cereal box for the base and cut out 2 large rectangles about the size of a piece of computer paper. I then looked at the cactus and the succulent that I wanted on my print and did my best to draw out the larger shapes while still incorporating some of the details. I drew a couple ideas on a separate piece of paper then used the transfer paper to transfer my preferred sketches onto one of the cardboard pieces (the other one will be the base). I then cut out every shape that I had drew so that none of the lines I had drawn were still connected. Then I glued the pieces onto the cardboard base so that they created the same original pattern. I left a little shape between each of the pieces so that you could see the design when I actually made the prints. I them glued Diamond Dotz all over the cardboard base to add a little more texture to my prints. After I finished this, I covered the entire printing plate with a couple coats of modge podge. When that dried I started to create my actual prints. To make the crayola crayon on computer paper print I placed the computer paper on top of the printing plate and drew all over the computer paper in the same direction until the design was portrayed. For the Sharpie on tin foil print I first took a piece of tin foil that easily covered the entire printing plate and and placed it over it. I then went over the entire design with my fingers so that the more elevated pieces were clearly shown through the tin foil. I then took my sharpie and colored in every shape that was more elevated than the others until I ended up with my final results. For my acrylic paint on computer paper prints, I first wetted the paper. Then I covered the entire printing plate with an even coat of acrylic paint and placed the wet paper over the entire print. Then I pressed down on the paper to make the acrylic transfer to the paper. I repeated these steps 2 more times without adding more paint to the printing plate. This created a second print a little lighter than the first and what is know as a "ghost" print. If I were to do this project again I would definitely wet the paper more for my second acrylic print and my ghost print. For those two I didn't wet the paper entirely and this results in the acrylic only appear in certain places.