Neoprene Printing Experiments

Neoprene Printing Experiments. 
Leading up to the UWE summer school class, Oversized Neoprene Foam Printing, I experimented with a variety of techniques, inks and foam sizes.

A2 jigsaw Neoprene foam print, created by oil-based inks, paper stencils and a sprinkling of table salt ( this gives the sparkling white dotted texture) I found A2 neoprene sheets in the euro stores of Barcelona - they were ever so cheap!



To begin to understand how this particular process works I made this two colour monkey print. Neoprene printing is unlike most relief printing such woodcut, linocut and rubber stamp, in fact you can't really describe it as a relief printing process, it's more like a papercut, in that it doesn't have a structure beneath to hold the elements together. 

   

This was made with 2 sheets of neoprene foam, Caligo CMYK Process inks, and a wooden spoon.

Foam bigger than A2 in the UK is rather pricey. However, a far cheaper option is buying the material in large long rolls. 

Excellent Women, an A4 one-sheet book inspired by the Barbara Pym novel. 

Silhouette drawings created using a variety of mark-making tools. 

Caligo process black ink was used, this is easy to clean, all you need is liquid soap and water. It's far easier to clean than any oil-based inks, and unlike most waterbased printing inks, it does cling to the foam, and prints just as effectively as traditional printing inks. 

Together with the excellent women one-page book, I made this two-clour portrait of this character below. Inspired by African fabrics, I cut, carved and made lots of expressive lines and marks with tools and scalpels. I think the two layers play well together, so this will be something to develop further.