I started experimenting with plaster in my printmaking, mainly because the print works I used was too far away. I didn’t have a printing press in my studio, so I researched and played with other ways to transfer the images I was creating either as relief prints or as intaglio prints. The plaster was a revelation. It added layers of texture that I hadn’t planned, but made each piece more interesting and rewarding. It’s a highly unpredictable medium to work with and I have a lot of waste, but when it works, it really works.

 

With the relief printing casts the image really is “in relief”. The  raw plaster areas are raised to with intricate line work, creating a 3-d surface. The intaglio prints are very different with the inks sitting on top of the plaster. These are really fun to carve into after the surface has set.

 

No two castings are the same. Even colours can change due to the plaster baking the surface and altering the stability of the inks.

 

Each plaster cast print making tile is air-dried, mounted and framed. Frames are hand-painted and can be with glass or without.