Primitive Print in the City 3

I've been so busy, that I've fallen behind on my blogging, I'm still trying to catch up with my Summer School workshops.

The last class was "Print in the City 3 " at UWE. For the last 3 years we've been running primitive print making classes in the city of Bristol. This year we were based in the MShed, a fantastic museum in the heart of the city, it's focus, Bristol.
Building on the foundations of the previous industrial museum, it holds tons of exciting machines, vehicles, huge signs and other bits and pieces in its storage depot, Eduardo Paolozzi's heaven essentially. Outside, on the harbourside you'll find more signs, and other industrial paraphernalia. An excellent place to make primitive prints.

We started off making clay prints.

First roll out some clay on an interesting surface.

Ink up the clay impression (using relief printing ink & roller)

And press down on paper !

 Plaster Printing 
 Using the items found in the Mshed storage depot as subject matter,

the participants made a number of carved plaster blocks - these have been sealed with button polish.


Frottage or Creative Rubbings. 

On the last day we made a number of rubbings from a number of interesting surfaces.

For a far more detailed and delightful post on the summer school visit Lilla Duignan
blog , its brilliant ! seeingthings.me.uk/blog/?p=2779
thanks to Ruth Sidwick for the photographs. 

Getting ready for Primitive Printmaking.

I'm preparing for my 'Primitive Printmaking' summer school at the University of the West of England.

Part field trip/part print-room based, this experiential course takes Bristol as its starting point to explore a variety of 'primitive print' approaches, including; adapted roller printing (using carved scaffolding foam and pipe lagging), carved rubber stamp, root vegetable printmaking (such as yams & potatoes), clay block printing (utilising reliefs created by clay impressions of objects and surfaces), plaster printing (from hand engraved blocks of plaster) and creative surface rubbings from collage constructions.

The more portable printing techniques will from part of a 2-day field trip to record and collect raw material from the city's parks, river, streets, market, galleries and museums. You will be encouraged to draw areas of interest and collect artefacts and souvenirs to inspire the remaining 3 days in the print-room. 

It runs from for 5 days from 28th July to 1st August 

Researching I came across a charming British Pathe film on the great pursuit of Coal-Hole Rubbings

Page Phillips, an antiques dealer, discovered that coal hole covers could be rubbed, just like brass rubbings. M/S of a man at night with his paper and rubbing equipment. He kneels on a pavement and starts rubbing to get a print. In the day, we see Page taping cartridge paper over a coal hole cover in the pavement, and making his rubbing. In his shop we see various prints, and a woman buying one which has been made into a table mat.




And I came across a book by Mark Simmonds
take a look at it online:  Some Examples of Coal Hole Covers          
0:56
and I 

Take a look at this book as well,